Desecrated Empire
by Envincebal
Summary: Sun Li's top student chose tyranny, but suddenly disappears. His former followers search to uncover the reason of his fate and a dark revelation that threatens all that is sacred. PLEASE review as thoroughly as possible! CHAPTER 7 IS UP!
1. A New Hope Is Born

**Author's Note: **For plot purposes, this story flows as if the Playable Character in the game never tended to Wild Flower's sub-quest in aiding either Chai Ka or Ya Zhen, despite the fact that this story takes place as a result of the Closed Fist ending. In this case, Chai Ka still followed the Playable Character after he chose to poison the Water Dragon's body since Chai Ka was under obligation to guard the Playable Character no matter what path he took, even though he did not like it. Also, this story flows as if the PC romanced Silk Fox so she was corrupted to side with him after he made the decision on the Water Dragon as well.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Jade Empire.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"What is all that commotion?" A strikingly beautiful young woman dressed in a royal yellow dress demanded as she pointed at a bald, gloomy-looking man in an orange and blue uniform with hands of black. The bald man cupped his left fist in his right palm and fell to his knees.

"An intruder has infiltrated the palace, Empress Lian." The bald man explained as he relaxed his posture. "There maybe more of them, but we are sure there is at least one."

Empress Sun Lian glared at the distressing news. _An intruder, here? Who would be foolish enough to do such a thing?_ She thought to herself.

It had been twenty years since there was a disturbance in the Jade Empire with the crisis involving her uncle, the late Sun Li the Glorious Strategist. His brutal bid for power almost brought the Empire to its knees. But those years had no effect on the empress. Her delicate appearance was no different than that of when she was the Heavenly Lily. That is because through the power of the Water Dragon, Emperor Kun extended his immortality to her has a symbol of their eternal reign over the Jade Empire. Now she was Empress Sun Lian the Heavenly _Lotus_. She ruled the Empire with an iron fist alongside the last Spirit Monk, now Emperor Kun the Immortal Phoenix, who toppled both her father Emperor Sun Hai and the Glorious Strategist.

"Do we have any idea why he is here?" Lian asked.

"No, my lady. But we cannot rule out the possibility that this intruder is making an attempt on either your or Emperor Kun's life."

Lian nodded. "Where is the Emperor now?"

"He went on his own investigation. We advised to protect him, but he did not wish it. He mentioned that he sensed something strange about the intruder. But now I must advise you the same, please allow me to escort you to somewhere safe."

"I will seek security myself, just find the traitor!" She said impatiently. "Alert the other Lotus Assassins and inform Death's Hand! I want this intruder captured alive so we can torture him for information. I will not tolerate traitors to my Empire! Now go!"

The Lotus Assassin made a quick bow. "Yes, your Highness." But before he could make a third step, there was the sound of an explosion. It came from around the corner at the end of the longhallway. He turned around to the Empress.

"Your Highness, it is not safe for..." The Assassin was cut off when he saw that Empress Lian was gone out of sight. _How is that possible? _He thought. She was just there a second ago...

* * *

Running on the lowest floor of the Imperial Palace was a man whose face was covered in a black cowl. The rest of his one piece robe matched it. He was the intruder that the Lotus Assassins and Imperial guards were trying to apprehend. So far, he'd been able to sneak inside without being detected, but escaping was a different matter. Now the entire Palace was alerted, though only a few guards had actually seen him. Those guards, he made sure, would never live to tell about him. All he wanted to do get to the main hanger, hijack one of the flyers and leave this place. He took a turn around a corner but hid back behind it when he caught a glimpse of three Imperial guards coming from his direction; each was armed with a spear. He camouflaged himself in the darkness behind a grand pillar, waiting for the guards to walk past. 

"We will stay here and guard the entrance to the lower hangars," One guard told his fellow comrades. "The only way off the Palace is by flyer. He will have no chance of escaping if we cut him off from the hangar."

The other two nodded and held their station at the entrance of the massive flyer hangar that housed at least a dozen flyers of all kinds. The masked intruder slumped down behind the pillar, trying to catch his breath. Various thoughts flooded his mind about his infiltration. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of jewelry the size of an apple; the famed Dragon Amulet that once belonged to Emperor Kun.

_This is what I came for...but at what cost?_ he thought. _Not everything is going as it should. I must hurry to correct this mistake! _

The masked man stuffed the amulet in his pocket and pulled out a small, marble-shaped object. He took a peek at the three guards, who were completely unaware of his presence. He readied the ball in his hand and chucked it at the guards. Before they could respond, an instant explosion enveloped in front of them, leaving behind a trail of burnt flesh and dying embers.

_Thank the heavens for Kang's "specialties," _the masked man thought gleefully as he made his way past the dead guards and into the grand hangar.

"Going somewhere?" a voice from behind mocked. The intruder spun around to see Empress Lian flanked by two elite Lotus Assassins. Each had flames engulfing their hands as though they were ready to launch fireballs at anytime. A flood of guards, as well, rushed from behind the Empress and stood by her side against the lone masked intruder.

"This has gone far enough!" the Empress commanded. "I know what you stole. If you give it back now, I promise to spare you torture and simply execute you!"

The intruder only stood there, refusing to speak or to act. He felt hopeless but he could not bring himself to surrender to the enemy, not after all he had gone through just to get to that point.

"I applaud your defiance. But you are insane to move against the Emperor. You have no idea of the damage you have caused us. Just look what I came across." Empress Lian said as she pulled out a helmet with a face mask attached to front. The mask had a red, fearsome design of the face of a demon. The very face that had inspired fear across the Empire for decades. "I found the armor of Death's Hand lying on the ground without a body. Clearly you had something to do with this. Just who are you and what kind of power do you hold that would allow you to do this?"

The masked man remained still, this time stunned at the sight of the mask. He looked back at the Empress. "I had nothing to do with him."

"You're lying! No ordinary person could defeat Death's Hand!" Empress Lian was getting furious. Although she could not help but sense the resolve in the intruder's voice. _What if he is telling the truth? But then where is the Emperor? _It seemed too much to be a coincidence. "No matter. You will suffer for your crimes against the throne. Guards, kill him!"

As the guards advanced towards him, a slight rumbling sound vibrated the floor and the walls. It grew louder and louder until the source became apparent. From the outside gate to the hangar was a hovering Dragonflyer. The masked man breathed a sigh of relief as he ran towards the transport. _It's about time!_

"Don't let him get away!After him!" Empress Lian screamed at her men as she backed out of the hangar away from harm's way. The guards charged at the fleeing intruder with spears in hand as the two elite Assassins threw balls of flames. The dire flames just barely missed their mark as the intruder made his way closer and closer to the Dragonflyer. The intruder was stopped short when he felt an intense burn slam into his right leg. He fell to the ground and clutched his leg, attempting to put out the fire. The guards just about reached their victim when an unrecognizable figure leaped out of the Dragonflyer and into the air towards the main group of guards. Everyone's eyes locked onto figure as it landed right in between the guards and the fallen intruder. They were shocked to see that it was a young woman with her hair tied in pigtails.

"Back away from him!" the woman commanded.

"Just in time, Wild Flower!" the intruder exclaimed through gritted teeth. She smiled back and faced the guards once more.

"You are a fool if you think you can stop us, woman!" A Lotus Assassin shot back, pulling out a knife and walking towards her.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, but you're making the Guardian mad!" Wild Flower warned.

The guards looked at each other, confused. They shrugged and continued their advance. Just then, a thunderbolt flashed on top of the woman with pigtails. It blinded everyone for a second, but only to regain their eye sight seeing a large, vicious, yet calm-looking demon with two straight horns on its head and one on its chin. The guards took a step back in fear. They scrambled to lift their spears but they were too slow. The demon swung its massive arms sideways and a devastating shockwave rippled from it, sending every guard and Assassin around him flying backwards a good twenty feet. The demon turned around and lifted the injured intruder of the ground onto its shoulders and tossed him into the Dragonflyer.

"Damn you Chai Ka! I should have killed that girl when I had the chance!" The voice of Empress Lian was heard from the other end of the hangar. A second bolt of lightning flashed onto the Chai Ka the Heavenly Gate Guardian, turning him back to Wild Flower.

"I warned them but they didn't listen," Wild Flower said innocently as she leaped onto the Dragonflyer. The vehicle turned toward a line of Mosquito flyers and engulfed them into flames with a direct Dragon Powder Rocket. With that, the Dragonflyer flew off into the horizon at a faster speed than any other flyer in the Empire.

* * *

Empress Sun Lian glared at the burning remains of the flyers, utterly furious at the intruders that just slipped away from her grasp. Questions flooded her mind that she would kill to have answered. Who was that masked intruder? What was his goal? Did the reappearance of Chai Ka have something to do with it? But the question that stuck in her mind was, Where was the Emperor? She swore under her breath and vowed to herself that she would do everything within her power to make them pay. 

Just then, something caught her eye: a glass bottle was lying on the ground. Curious, she picked up the glass. _Perhaps the traitor dropped it while escaping._ She thought. She instantly recognized the contents of the bottle: it was empty for the most part, but had stains of red liquid.

"Oh no..." Lian whispered. She realized the purpose of the stained bottle. "Blood. NO! The Emperor..."

* * *

"That was a close one, Sing," Wild Flower said as she tended to her friend's wound onboard the moving Dragonflyer. 

"Thanks Wild Flower, I own you one. You too, Kang!" Han Sing called out to the pilot in the cockpit.

"No need to thank me!" Kang the Mad replied while keeping his goggles glued to the front. "I enjoy all this excitement, especially when I had the chance to cause explosions when I fired those rockets. It really gets the blood flowing! Um...a pity the target had to be precious flyers, but those second rate models were not made by me so it wasn't so bad."

Han Sing and Wild Flower laughed. They could never get tired of Kang the Mad's fascinating obsession with explosions, which partly was what made him unique, as well as his sense of humor.

Wild Flower, now a full grown woman just shy of thirty years, had come a long way from the timid and uncertain girl who followed Kun the Immortal Phoenix in the fight against Sun Li. She was granted the gift of life by the Celestial Bureaucracy when Emperor Kun disowned her and Chai Ka returned to the heavens. Even now, Chai Ka continued to live inside Wild Flower, protecting her and continuing his duties as a monitor of the Emperor's activities in the name of the Bureaucracy.

Kang on the other hand, had more wrinkles and even whiter hair now, but that did not stop him from inventing. Nor, apparently, did it halt his obsession of exploding things.

"Did you accomplish what you went for?" Wild Flower asked, pulling out some herbal medicine from a bag and applying it to Sing's burn.

Han Sing sighed. "Yes, but not completely." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Dragon Amulet. "I got the Amulet at least; but something terrible happened."

"What?"

"Emperor Kun found me and confronted me," Sing replied without emotion.

Wild Flower gasped, not believing her ears. "What happened?"

"I couldn't let him stop me from stealing the Amulet. He's dead...I had to kill him," Sing said. He hung his head low and shut his eyes.

"That's impossible! How did you defeat a god and still live?" Wild Flower demanded, still not believing what she was hearing.

Sing shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't worry about that now." He pulled himself up despite an injured leg. He dragged himself toward the front of the Dragonflyer."For now...we have to go to Dirge..."


	2. Reunion

Author's Note: Tho Fan, or "Old Tongue," will be translated in parentheses.

**Chapter 2**

The Marvelous Dragonfly soared through the eternally snowing climate of the Land of the Howling Spirits located in the Hills of the Six Holy Scrolls province. Even after twenty years, it was impossible to forget the memories that this place brought for Wild Flower and Kang. They were there to witness firsthand the seemingly unending swarm of Sun Li's Golem army advancing towards the defiled monastery of Dirge. It was an ordeal that they'd been certain that they would not survive; yet somehow they had.

"I think I can see Dirge from here, Kang," Wild Flower pointed at a distant spot of brown and white at the top of the highest peak. "Not much has changed, has it?"

"Indeed it hasn't. I never thought I would find myself coming back her out of my own free will," Kang said, pulling several levers to steady the Dragonfly for a landing. "Hopefully, things will be a bit more tame this time around."

Wild Flower nodded in agreement. She looked back and saw Han Sing sleeping soundly on a mat. He deserved the rest after all he had been through in the Imperial Palace. There was nothing better to do than to sleep during the several-hour flight from the Imperial City to Dirge. The Dragon Amulet was resting in one of his hands. Wild Flower leaned over and picked it up. She ran her fingers around the frame of the artifact of gold. Wild Flower's eyes flared a blue glow.

(We did it, child,) Chai Ka said from within the girl. (The amulet is back in our hands.)

The blue light dimmed back to her natural eye color. "Yes…but it seems to keep falling into the wrong hands. I'm amazed something this small can be so powerful."

(Do not be troubled, child, our friend here has done well and the Celestial Bureaucracy will be pleased.)

"I know," Wild Flower sighed, conceding the point. "But what if it is true? Is the Emperor really dead? Even if his rule is over, it may not be good in the long run, if you know what I mean."

(We'll see.) Chai Ka spoke through Wild Flower. (For now, we must continue our duty and guard Han Sing.)

Wild Flower gripped the amulet for a second longer before placing it back into Sing's hand. She got up and joined Kang at the passenger's seat in the cockpit. Now the bulk of the monastery was almost in full view…

* * *

It was in the dead of night and flames were everywhere. The ground was littered with bodies, fallen by the heat of battle and drenched with blood. The bodies were garbed either in the light brown and orange armor that symbolized a soldier of the Imperial Army, or the humble blue robes of the honorable Spirit Monks. Among the living, the two sides clashed, but it was the Spirit Monks that were on the unfortunate end of things. Their numbers were dwindling rapidly by the swarming numbers of the Imperial Army. The screams of death were heard from all directions. The Imperial Army advanced upwards toward a large flight of stairs that led to the main hall of the monastery. The last remaining Spirit Monks were cut down by the swords of their enemies. Two distinguished figures at the frontlines of the Imperial Army, Prince Sun Li and Sun Kin cleared the way for the eldest brother, Emperor Sun Hai. At the top of the stairs were the last of the Spirit Monk Order. 

"_Come with me!" The younger Spirit Monk called out to the older one. In his arms, he carried a bundle that would point to an infant. _

_The older Monk, the abbot shook his head. "No, this is my fight! Go!" He turned and leaped towards his adversaries. _

_With a quick kick, the abbot knocked the masked Sun brother away and nearly did the same to the youngest of the brothers. Regaining his stance, an angry Prince Kin distracted the abbot as the Glorious Strategist proceeded to cut their victim down like the rest of the order._

_The last Spirit Monk up the stairs couldn't believe what he just saw._

"_NOOOO!"

* * *

_

"Wake up, Sing. We're here!" Kang's voice came from the cockpit.

Han Sing screamed as he awoke from his sleep. It took him a few seconds for his eyes to focus before he realized that he was back in the Dragonfly. But it was no longer in the air. It had landed on an open area right next to a grand set of stairs, the same stairs that he saw in his dream. Cold sweat ran from his brow and his breathing was hard.

_Oh…just a dream… _he thought in relief.

"What is it, Sing?" Wild Flower rushed to his side with a concerned look. "You were having a nightmare, weren't you?'

Sing wiped the sweat off his face. "Y-yeah. It was terrible, Wild Flower. I had a nightmare of this exact spot here in Dirge. Spirit Monks were dying by the second as the Imperial Army overwhelmed them. Then…"

"The Sun brothers killed the abbot, right?" Wild Flower finished.

Sing nodded. "Yes. Everything happened exactly as you and Kang told me."

Wild Flower turned and glanced at Kang, who shrugged, obviously not knowing what to make of it.

"That is strange, Sing," Wild Flower said. "But how can that be? You've never even been here before and yet you recognize this area of Dirge?"

"Yes, except there was fire and people dying everywhere."

"Hmm…" Wild Flower muttered to herself. "It seems too convenient…"

'Perhaps your little escapade at the Palace has addled your senses with all your kicking and punching?" Kang interrupted.

Sing glared at the eccentric inventor. "You're not helping, Kang."

"Ah sorry, I just wanted to point out the possibility that all that excitement could have triggered something or…ah I don't know…"

"Maybe this place has an effect on people when they are here, like a vision or something," Wild Flower pointed out.

"Maybe, what do you think, Chai Ka?" Sing asked, looking at Wild Flower.

There was a moment of silence. Sing and Wild Flower looked at each other strangely. There was still no answer from the Heavenly Gate Guardian.

"Uh…Chai Ka?" Sing said.

(…I do not know.) Wild Flower's mouth moved for the demon. (But we must not dwell on that. What is important now is that we get what we came for, so let us focus on that for now.)

No one could argue with that. The blue eyes of the girl returned to brown. They were all eager to get right back into their transport and leave this place. But they were here for a reason and they would not leave until they got what they came for. Sing and Wild Flower got up from the floor and made their way off the landing ramp. Wild Flower led the way while Kang and Sing followed. The last time they were here, she was just a girl, not even ten years old. Now the entire monastery looked a tad smaller, possibly due to the fact that she had grown. Nevertheless, the memories remained the same. The three made their way up the stairs. Pieces of his nightmare flashed in Sing's mind as he walked further up, but he shook his thoughts away and focused ahead. The wind was blowing from the west and the sound of the breeze justified the name Land of the Howling Spirits. The three finally reached the top of the stairs. There was a hallway that led downward a few steps before the three made a left turn around the corner. Before them, stood a large set of red double doors.

"Well, here we are," Kang said as the three stopped a few feet in front of the entrance. "They should be here, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure of it," Sing responded, running a hand through his short jet-black hair. He walked over to one of the doors and pressed his hand flat on the surface. "Let's go."

Han Sing forced the door forward. The door was heavier than it looked as it slowly opened to reveal the main chamber. At the center of the room was stone statue of a dragon; which had water flowing from its mouth onto a small moat that encircled around it. At the far end of the room was a statue paying homage to Chai Ka the Heavenly Gate Guardian. The three moved deeper into the room. On their right was a red portal in the wall, blocked by sharp blades; the portal that led to the Spirit Realm.

"Look! There they are!" Wild Flower exclaimed, pointing the ground in front of the portal. Kang and Sing looked where Wild Flower pointed to see three other bodies lying on the ground. One was a scrawny looking man with a white headband and a dirty apron on his chest. The second was another man who had his hair tied back into a bun and sported a blue outfit. The third was a female wearing a magenta suit that had several ribbons dangling at the torso and her hair was tied back into a ponytail.

Wild Flower, Kang and Sing ran to them and each took one of the fallen in their arms attempting to wake them. Sing got the woman in the magenta up so she laid on his arm and caught a clear view of her face. Sing was stunned at the beauty of this woman, even more so since she is asleep. It reminded him of a sleeping princess, just like the ones in the fairy tales. She had a strong build, indicating that she was physically well trained. Sing broke from his daze and shook her a bit. She made a move as her eyes opened to meet his. She was greeted with a smile, though she still didn't know how to react. It seemed like the first time the opened her eyes.

"You're awake! Are you alright?" Sing said, helping her up to a sitting position. The woman rubbed her head and accepted his support to help her on her feet.

"Wh-where am I?" The woman asked Sing. "Who are you?"

Before Sing could answer, Wild Flower leaped from tending to the man in the blue suit, who has not awaken yet and grabbed the woman by the arms, smiling brightly. "Dawn Star! Oh, thank the gods you're alive!"

Dawn Star's eyes widened. Her eyes darted all around her. "I-I'm alive? How can this be true? Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me, Dawn Star? It's me, Wild Flower!"

Dawn Star narrowed her eyes are the woman in front of her. She then let out a gasp. "Wild Flower? Is that really you? My goodness, you've grown! But how can this be? Am I…free?"

"Yes! So is Hou and Sky!" Wild Flower pointed at the two men still unconscious on the ground with Kang attending to them.

Dawn Star was overwhelmed. "Kang! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Yes, Dawn Star," Kang waved a crooked hand. "It is good to see you well and alive."

"But, how did this happen? How were we freed from the spirit binding?" Dawn Star asked.

Wild Flower turned to Sing, who still stood idly watching old friends reunite. Then he approached the two women. Wild Flower touched Sing's shoulder.

"This man helped us. He's really the reason why you all are free from Kun's grasp."

Sing cupped his fist with his other hand and bowed. "My name is Han Sing. It is a pleasure to meet you, Dawn Star."

Dawn Star returned the gesture. "Han Sing. For what you've done, I am most grateful."

"I know what you're thinking, Dawn Star." Wild Flower jumped in before she could continue. "You must be wondering how exactly he freed you. But let's wake up Hou and Sky first. Once we get ourselves together, then we can all talk more."

"Of course," Dawn Star nodded in agreement. She turned to face Sing. "I am looking forward to knowing more about you, Sing."

"Same at you, Dawn Star," Sing smiled.

* * *

The silence of night was calm and soothing for all of them as they camped out by the Dragonfly in the Main Hall at Dirge. The six (or seven counting Chai Ka) sat around a cozy fire as they all got acquainted with each other. Sky and Hou, like Dawn Star, were equally surprised that they were no longer slaves of Kun the Immortal Phoenix's spirit binding. 

"I thought this nightmare would never end," Sky said glumly. "We were robbed of our free will for twenty long years."

Henpecked Hou, who all things considered looked like a cook, removed his headband and nodded in agreement. "We weren't dead, but not exactly alive either. We could see tormented spirits roam throughout this place. I would choose my plump plum of a wife's screaming and chastising over such a terrible fate any day. And that's saying something!"

"So when Kun poisoned the Water Dragon, he turned on you and killed you three?" Sing queried.

"We weren't dead, just seriously wounded. He wouldn't let us die so easily; he bound our spirits to Dirge as soon as he ended Sun Li's rule. He then proceeded to draw blood from all three of us to use against the Water Dragon." Dawn Star touched her left set of ribs. "I can still feel the pain from the scar sometimes."

Hearing her say that made Sing hurt inside. What kind of a monster would do such a thing? It hurt him to see Dawn Star so sad. "I'm sorry, Dawn Star."

She forced a smile and shook her head. "It's not your fault. But I appreciate your kindness. What hurt the most what the fact that I knew Kun all my life as someone who was caring and compassionate, but he since he came back from the dead, he changed. He came back cold and cruel. I suppose Sun Li's betrayal must have affected his resolve in a negative way. But I did not anticipate that he would follow down my father's path of lusting for power."

"Sun Li was your father?" Sing said in disbelief. His head turned to Wild Flower. "You never told me that!"

"Oh…I guess I forgot to mention…" Wild Flower shifted away from his gaze uncomfortably.

"A friend of ours revealed that Master Li was my father," Dawn Star continued, trying to choke back tears. "I never knew my father, but I imagined him to be kind and caring. But then I found out that my father was too twisted with ambition to care about his family."

"Aw, Dawn Star," Sing stammered. "I don't know what to say…"

"I said it was alright, he's dead now and I've learned to move on. But I would like to know more about you. Where are you from and how did you end up with Kang and Wild Flower? Most importantly, how did you manage to free us?"

Everyone's attention shifted to Sing. He felt a bit awkward being the center of attention as he was more accustomed to keeping to himself. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts together.

"Well, I came to know Wild Flower my whole life. She told me Kun made her an outcast a couple of weeks after he defeated your father and had nowhere to go. She went into custody under a kind man named Ki Tong. I was born not too long after Sun Li's defeat but was orphaned early on. Ki Tong and Wild Flower found me as an infant all alone just outside Tien's Landing. Tong took me in and when I was old enough, he told me that my parents were killed by Rat demons as they were strolling in the forest near Tien's Landing with me in their arms. Wild Flower and Ki Tong happened to be there when my parents were killed and saved me from the demons. Since then, Ki Tong was like a father to me and trained me in the ways of the martial arts and Wild Flower became sort of like an older sister."

"What about Kang?" Sky asked.

"We ran into Kang five years ago when Wild Flower and I were touring Phoenix Gate. We heard an explosion coming from one of the neighborhoods so we went to investigate. On our way, we saw Kang running like a maniac with his hat was on fire. We helped him and it turns out that he was working on an experiment for the Emperor. It somehow backfired and exploded, killing the Imperial supervisors. We knew the Emperor would hunt him down so we promised to help him go into hiding."

"Force me to build nonsense invention, will they?" Kang's said indignantly. "Next time I'll put Dragon Power in their food!"

Dawn Star chuckled softly. "Kang still seems to leave craters behind everything he does."

"Oh, you should see what happened the last time he tried to cook!" Wild Flower joked, rolling her eyes.

Everyone laughed. It felt good to see everyone in a lighter mood.

"So where is your Master Tong now?" Hou asked.

Sing and Wild Flower frowned.

"He's…fallen ill," Wild Flower said. "He's resting in our home in a remote area of the Golden Delta province."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," Sky began. "But why did you go out of your way to free us when you could be finding a cure for your master?"

"Yes, and for that matter I think it is time you told us how you freed us," Dawn Star added.

"Well…" Sing paused for a moment. "We weren't originally planning to come here or free you in the first place. It just so happened that freeing you was part of our mission."

"Your…mission?" Hou repeated slowly.

"Yes, our mission. See, Chai Ka returned from the heavens with a message from the Celestial Bureaucracy with a solution that could potentially save my Master. The solution was the Dragon Amulet, which was in the hands of Emperor Kun. If we could get our hands on it, we could use it to focus our power in such a way where I could transfer chi from any living being into my Master's body, helping him fight off this terrible disease. So, we infiltrated the Palace and attempted to steal it. We succeeded."

Sing pulled out the amulet from his shirt for all to see.

"I don't believe it, how did you manage to get through all those guards and the Emperor of all people and not get detected?" Sky demanded in disbelief.

"That's just it, I did get caught," Sing explained. "I made my way into the large room where Emperor Sun Hai hung the Water Dragon's body. That was where the amulet was. But Emperor Kun caught me and I thought that was the end for me."

"So what happened?" Dawn Star pressed eagerly.

Sing sighed and began to explain his side of the story.

* * *

_Emperor Kun the Immortal Phoenix raised his hand and fired a stream of energy that struck Sing square in the chest, sending him backwards until he hit the ground. Grimacing in pain, he scrambled to find a way to escape, but the last of his hope left him. Then, his hand brushed against a bottle of liquid near in his pocket._

_"I don't know what you are trying to prove, intruder," Kun sneered. "But if you wanted death, you may as well just asked for it to save yourself the delay. I'll make this quick and painless."_

_Kun began to raise his hand again to finish Sing off, but he whipped around and unleashed the contents of the bottle, Red liquid splashed across the surprised Emperor's face. Kun backed off, screaming as if he was suffering. His body began to flash in all sorts of colors, indicating that his power was diminishing. Sing was about to take the opportunity to leave, but something caught the corner of his eye: Kun's chest opened up to reveal a precious green gem. The Emperor, who was still screaming in agony from the defiling of the blood, looked distracted. _

The Water Dragon's essence! _Sing thought. _If I could take the power, I could free Wild Flower's friends!

_Wasting no time, Sing reached at the essence and grabbed it with his hand. With all his strength, he tugged as hard as he could. His first pull wasn't enough, but on his second, the heart detached from Kun's body, causing him further pain. Sing held the Water Dragon's heart tightly as he could already feel the power surging through every part of this body, mind and spirit. He closed his eyes, concentrating hardon it and the heart began to glow. In his head, images of all the people that Kun has bounded with this power flooded his mind. In one big flash, the images were gone giving him the assurance that the bindings were reversed. Before he could make another move, he felt a sharp kick to the stomach. He landed hard on his back and lost his handle on the essence. It flew out of his hands and fell into the abyss where the Water Dragon's bleeding used to go that rejuvenated an Empire in drought._

_"NO!" Emperor Kun yelled as he ran to the edge of the cliff. _

_He gritted his teeth in anger and got up. He turned his attention to Sing and approached him, hungry for his blood. Sing got up just in time to see a punch thrown straight for him. In a flash, he barely caught it. Without thinking, Sing, on instinct,made a counterattack. He didn't know why he did it, it just...happened. A series of blows disoriented Kun, then in one final move, Sing summoned all his strength and delivered one last strike into the Emperor's midsection. He didn't even try to block it. The wind was knocked out of him as his eyes were full of surprise. He fell backwards and plunged off the side of the cliff, following after the essence into the abyss..._

_Sing fell to the ground, completely distraught about what just happened.For a moment, he refused to believe that he did what he just did. He scrambled frantically for the amulet, only to find it on the ground nearby. He picked it up and made his way out. He stopped for a brief moment and glanced at the massive blue dragon that hung lifelessly on the wall. He bowed at it._

_"That was for you, Great Mistress."

* * *

_

"He was the perfect warrior, trained by the Glorious Strategist himself. In terms of skill, there was no way I could have defeated him. I am not exactly the best fighter myself but he didn't even try to block my attack. My attack hit home and I sent him off the ledge and into the abyss where the Water Dragon's heart fell. Spirit Monk or not, therewas no way he could have survived that fall." Sing concluded.

"You killed the Emperor…a god?" Dawn Star gasped in awe. "Impossible…"

"I know it sounds crazy, but that's what happened. At least I was able to reverse his binding on all of you." Sing concluded and buried his face in his hands, not entirely sure he believes it himself. They all sat there in a daze, completely consumed by the tale they were just told.

"I assaulted the throne, I'm pretty much a wanted criminal now," Sing added.

"But…"

Wild Flower began to say something but she was cut off when sound came from the portal. The blades on the entrance flew aside and a bright white light flashed. Everyone jumped up and prepared themselves for what was to come. Dawn Star and Sky readied their swords that they found scattered on the ground. Without warning, a swarm of spirits rushed out of the portal and caught them all off guard before they had time to react. It was hopeless. They were too overwhelmed as the spirits of the dead piled up on each of them. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't move. They heard a slicing sound followed by a loud crash. Every one of them prayed that it was not the sound of companion being cut down by a spirit.

Suddenly, a vacuum from the portal began sucking all the spirits back towards their origin. The screams of the dead spiraled into silence as they disappeared into the twilight. When the last one was swallowed, the blades closed again. The group got up and brushed themselves off, wondering what was going on.

"Is everyone okay?" Hou asked as he looked around to each living person.

"Yes, but what was that?" Dawn Star said.

(With the emperor gone, there is no shepherd of the dead. The dead may have tried to break out of the spirit realm,) Chai Ka explained.

"Somebody must have closed the portal; but who?" Sky wondered

"You can thank me later," a voice echoed from behind one of the pillars near the portal.

"Who's there?" Sing commanded.

A figure in yellow noble clothing walked out from behind the pillar. He had a sword in hand and sported a yellow hat. He walked down the stairs and stood in front of them all. His eyes stare down Dawn Star with a look of both sadness and joy.

"Ah, we finally meet, Dawn Star," the figure in yellow bowed.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Dawn Star asked suspiciously.

The man smiled. "Oh of course, you don't recognize me, just like my brother…your father."

Everyone was stunned at what the man just said. Dawn Star found this particularly shocking, but then it somehow came to her. "No, you can't be him…" Everyone else except Sing realized what was going on as well.

"Who is he, Dawn Star?" Sing asked.

Dawn Star's eyes locked onto the stranger's. "He's my uncle…Sun Kin…"


	3. The Test

**Chapter 3**

"It's really you, isn't it?" Dawn Star murmured, stepping slowly towards Sun Kin. His face displayed a sense of sadness and weariness that showed what forty years of being trapped in an armor of pure evil could do to a person.

"Yes, Dawn Star. I can understand if this is startling. I am just as surprised as you are," Kin said.

"I'm sorry. It's just a shock to see that you're free from the armor you were bound to. But I am happy nonetheless."

"What armor?" Han Sing interrupted.

"Oh right," Dawn Star began, turning to face Sing. "This is my uncle, Sun Kin. He's the youngest brother after Sun Hai and my father, Sun Li. When Dirge fell, Kin was killed, and his spirit was bound to the armor that my father once wore. He became the evil entity called Death's Hand that followed the will of the Emperor. When Kun took over, he kept my uncle's tormented soul at his side during his harsh rule."

"Then it's true," Sing muttered, as if something just clicked in his mind.

"What is?" Kin asked curiously, walking up to Sing.

"When I was in the Palace, Empress Lian showed me a fearsome helmet that she claimed belonged to someone named Death's Hand, and that it was empty. When I reversed all of Kun's past bindings, I must have released you as well."

It took a minute to register into everyone's minds but it soon began to make sense. Kin, however, did not have all his questions answered.

"Yes, my other niece is now just as evil as the Emperor himself. For years, I watched her behind the mask. She was feisty but genuinely cared for the people of the Empire. But when I saw her in the company of Kun, I realized her character has changed to reflect his. But…how did you manage to free us all?" Kin queried

Sing went on to explain how he'd infiltrated the Palace, intending to steal the Amulet, and had been caught by Emperor Kun. He then proceeded to tell the Hand of Heaven how he managed to defeat the Emperor and escape the Lotus Assassins.

"That is impossible," Kin was firm in his voice, obviously not convinced. "Even without the essence of the Water Dragon, he was still the perfect fighter. No one could have possibly defeated him in a test of skill."

Sing narrowed his eyes at Kin, not liking his tone of voice. "Your brother managed to catch him off guard once. But I see your point; I don't consider myself a world-class warrior. I have been beaten many times by people who were much less intimidating as the Emperor was."

"Forgive me," Kin's demeanor relaxed. "I did not mean to scrutinize your skill in any way. I suppose the fact that you freed us all from his control is proof enough that you did defeat him. For that I am grateful. You've freed me from a fate that was worse than death itself. I was forced to do the bidding of three twisted and corrupted tyrants. I was nothing more than a tool to them that was only abused time and time again."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I couldn't imagine what kind of agony you went through all those years," Sing said. He let silence hold momentarily, then quickly changed to a lighter subject. "I'm sure you've met everyone else?"

Kin gave the rest of the on-looking group an uneasy glance. The last time they met was under a dire circumstance. One situation that they'd wish they could forget. He looked back at Sing.

"Yes, we've all met. But I was the reason Kun bound half of these people. They did not agree with Kun binding me to him, so he did the same to all who opposed him." Kin looked at Sky, Hou and Dawn Star with pity. "For the first few years of Kun's rule, I watched those three endure the same treatment as I did until he decided to have them moved to this place. I am truly sorry for all that you went through."

"You don't have to apologize," Hou assured. "It's not like you had a choice. You were a slave just like the three of us."

"That's right," Dawn Star placed a hand on her uncle's shoulder. "We may have met each other in battle once, but you are not the enemy. What matters is that you are no longer in his control."

Sky on the other hand, looked bothered by something. Though the others did not notice. He just looked away from Kin, as if disgusted by him.

"I suppose there is wisdom in your words, Dawn Star. Thank you," Kin said.

Dawn Star smiled. "Good. What will you do now?"

"Won't you come with us?" Wild Flower jumped in. "We would love it if you joined us."

Hou, Kang and Dawn Star agreed in delight, signaling their approval. Sky was the only one who didn't say anything, but again, no one noticed.

"Come with you?" Kin echoed in uncertainty.

"Even with Kun gone, Lian is still in control of the Empire. As long as she is still ruling, the Empire will continue to be oppressed. We need to stop her if we are to bring peace back to the Empire. We must also search for the Water Dragon's essence and return it to the heavens. As long as it is missing, the dead won't rest," Dawn Star said.

Kin thought about it for a moment. The rest eagerly waited for his response.

"I had hoped we would never have to wage another fight against our family. But it seems like there is no choice," Kin reasoned. "Perhaps…perhaps this could be a chance of redemption for all the crimes I've committed in the past. I will join you, if you'll have me."

"Of course we will, the more the merrier!" Wild Flower beamed gleefully.

"Welcome to the team!" Sing added.

'Thank you for this chance to redeem myself," Kin said. He then turned back to Sing. "But I am curious about you, Sing. How do you factor into all this?"

"I'm just a simple man who grew up in a humble village with my master and Wild Flower. My master fell ill one day, and I desperately pleaded to the heavens for a cure. Chai Ka went before the Bureaucracy to plead my case and said the Dragon Amulet was the key to healing him. That is why I snuck into the Palace in the first place, but then I was presented with an opportunity to free you all and here I am now, being caught in the middle of what seems like a crusade to bring balance back to the Empire. How exciting."

'Oh you are too modest," Kin objected. "You must be either incredibly brave or foolish to infiltrate the Palace. Killing the Emperor is not exactly something a simple man could do. No, I believe you are meant to serve a higher purpose than a simple commoner. Perhaps the heavens see something extraordinary about that would lead you down a great destiny."

Sing laughed as if it were a joke. "Oh please, don't put me on a pedestal. I can barely cook breakfast for myself. How could you possibly know?"

"Well, I was known as the Hand of Heaven under my brother. I had a fair amount of contact with the gods. They are known to use the most unlikely people to do their bidding. Besides, Kun began his life as a simple student and look what he did."

Sing sighed, conceding the point. "Well that may be. But how am I supposed to know what my destiny is or what I'm supposed to do?"

Wild Flower's eyes glowed blue. (The heavens also know when the timing is correct and their wisdom is far beyond the understanding of mortals,) came Chai Ka's voice.

"Yes, which is why I would like to do an experiment." Kin said. "It just occurred to me that there is a possibility that your encounter with Kun and his defeat was no coincidence. I am confident that you were meant to meet him when you did. I would like to have a sparring match with you to see if there is anything unusual with the way you fight. You can tell a lot from a person by the way they fight. This was evident with Kun. Perhaps there is something about your style that the heavens thought would prove to be successful in killing the Emperor, much like the flaw Sun Li exploited in his student. Would you agree to this?"

"Well if it's just an experiment, I don't see any harm. But I doubt you will find anything useful. I still haven't completed my training since my master fell ill. The rest can be the observers. So you want to fight me?"

"Yes, I once led the Lotus Order before they became the Lotus Assassins. It was an elite order trained to advise and protect the Emperor. Even though Sun Li was leader of the Imperial Army, I had training that could make myself an equal to his skill. I promise I will be a formidable opponent."

"Uncle Kin, are you sure this is wise?" Dawn Star said in skepticism.

"Do not worry, this will be a simple sparring match, no major injury will inflicted," Kin reassured. "Sing are you ready? We will use any styles except weapon and transformation. The match will end when one of us is knocked out."

Sing nodded. The two men readied themselves into position. The both stood about ten feet apart from each other. Sun Kin removed his hat and threw it to the ground while Han Sing took off his black tunic. The rest of them gathered together on the steps leading up to the portal. The two combatants did some quick stretches to loosen their bodies, then faced each other, bowed…and then, the fight was on.

Both fighters launched themselves upward and caught the other's blow at the same time. As they landed back on the ground, the two spun around and threw a series of blows at each other. Both took turns exchanging offensive strikes and blocks. Neither had managed to hit their mark yet, but Kin was the more aggressive one. Sing went for a quick jab, but Kin knocked his arms away and slammed both his palms on Sing's unguarded chest. The force of Kin's chi sent him flailing backwards. Sing let a yelp of pain as he hit the ground, but he wasn't finished yet.

"Ouch! This guy really knows how to give a beat down!" Sky commented from the sidelines. No one else could disagree with that. Kin's performance was living up to his claim of skill.

Sing rolled backwards and up onto his feet to escape the Hand of Heaven's blow. Seeing an opening, Sing launched a kick that made Kin stumble backwards. Kin recovered just in time to release a clearing wave of energy that pushed Sing back once again. This time, Kin brought up his hands and focused his chi. He made no attempt to move as Sing recovered and charged at his opponent. A small breeze came from beneath Sing. As he got closer the breeze became stronger, up to a point where it was slowing his movements to a snail's crawl. The technique was commonly known as Heavenly Wave. Sing fought hard to break from the effect, but it had a firm grip on him. His movements were slow and sluggish. Kin then broke from his trance and Sing was caught off guard as he did not anticipate that the grip on him was broken. With a sudden spin, Kin delivered a roundhouse kick to Sing's face. His head snapped backwards and fell on his back in an instant. This time, he did not get up. The spectators cringed at the blow. Kin dusted his hands and gave a bow of courtesy to his fallen opponent. Wild Flower and Dawn Star rushed to Sing's side attempting to revive him.

"Ha ha! Much kicking and punching!" Kang exclaimed, clapping. "I haven't had this much fun since I tested my Celestial Rocket Chair while I was escaping from an angry mob. Although now I would have preferred the mob considering how I landed."

"Wow! I doubt my Drunken Master style could stand up to your skill," Hou marveled, rubbing the back of his bald head. "By the way, I watched very closely and I couldn't see anything strange with the way he fought. I actually found his moves to be a bit predictable at times."

"Hmmm…I noticed that as well," Kin said in deep thought. "I will admit he is disciplined, yet his skills are unrefined. He is no different from many of the other men I have fought and defeated. This makes me question more and more how he managed to kill Kun. I don't know what it is, but there has to be a reason for it. It does not make any sense."

Wild Flower got up from Sing's side; who was still unconscious but was being tended to by Dawn Star. "Wait! Maybe our Master, Tong, could tell us something. After all, he did train Sing. I'm sure he'll know something. Besides, we have to get the amulet to him. He needs to be healed right away."

"Alright, then that is what we will do," Kin complied.

"Wonderful, as long as we don't have to go to the Imperial City! I can't take the chance that my wife could still be alive after twenty years of being away. She'd probably make me pull the ox cart and let the ox ride on it if she found out I was gone this whole time," Hou said.

Wild Flower ignored his remark and walked over to Kang. "Kang, would you ready up the Dragonfly? We'll be leaving soon!"

"Yes, yes of course! All this excitement is really getting to me!" Kang gushed.

"Good, I'd rather we not stay here any longer," Kin said. "This place brings back bad memories."

Wild Flower helped Dawn Star carry Sing's body off the floor. The others exited the room but in went back for his hat. As he started to catch up to the rest, he noticed that Sky was standing before him.

"Yes? Is there something you need?" Kin asked politely.

Sky's face was hard; apparently he had been waiting for this moment to speak to Kin alone.

"Look, I'm glad you're free from being bounded and all," Sky's voice sounded grim. "But let's get one thing straight: The others may trust you, but I don't. I know you were part of the reason why the Spirit Monks are extinct and why the natural order was disrupted."

"I believed the wisdom of my older brothers was beyond my understanding," Kin said defensively, not liking where this was going. "Had I known what they were about to do I would have stopped them. Please, you have to believe me."

Sky crossed his arms. "That may be so, but I won't let my guard down on your word alone. Just know that I will be watching you, and if you try to do anything to jeopardize what we are doing, you will regret it."

With that he walked off to join the others. Kin stood alone for a moment. He did not want to believe those words, but then he looked around the room. This was the same room where he took part in a heinous crime against the heavens that night forty years ago. It was also the site of his death. He shuddered at the memories of all the innocent lives that have been claimed by his hand.

"Just when I thought they all would trust me," Kin said to himself. "I hope…I can prove myself to them in due time."

He shook off his thoughts and ran to catch up with the rest. Ten minutes later, the Marvelous Dragonfly lifted off the ground and flew off into the horizon.

* * *

"Man, you pack quite a kick, Kin," Sing said groggily, rubbing his sore cheek. "You guys at the Lotus Order must have been a force of reckoned with." 

"Just be glad I did not fight you as Death's Hand, I believe I was stronger then," Kin joked.

"Ugh, don't even mention it. I don't want to think about that!"

Everyone had been onboard the Marvelous Dragonfly for about two hours now. Wild Flower was sitting in the cockpit guiding Kang to the direction of the village that she and Sing grew up in. The rest were in the back talking.

"Well, I have to say there was nothing unusual about the way you fight, Sing," Dawn Star pointed out.

"Yes, as I saying before to Kin, there were times where even I could predict your moves," Hou added.

"Thanks a lot guys, I feel so much better," Sing muttered sarcastically. "Well I hope that proves your case, Kin."

'I apologize if I hurt you badly, but I had to be sure," Kin said. "I wanted to know if the gods saw something in the way you fight as a possible way of defeating Kun, but nothing was evident."

"Well, do me a favor and no more of your "tests," okay?" Sing said indignantly. "I'm sure we can get something out of my master. But let me treat him before we question him. My Master Tong is very weak and likely not up for talking quite yet."

Kin nodded in agreement. Wild Flower etched her head to the back and told everyone they were a few minutes from their destination.

"Good, it's nice to be home finally," Sing breathed a sigh of relief as he got up and looked out the window.

Dawn Star came to his side and looked out with him. "What is this village called?"

"Moon's Point. It's a small village close to the edge of the Golden Delta province, virtually unknown to the government of the Imperial city. This is the perfect place to lay low."

Dawn Star spent a moment and looked at the surroundings. A long river flowed from as far as the summit of the mountain in the east. There was a small town square where peasants went about their simple lives. Off to the side was a open field where youngsters practiced meditation. The simple life in this place made her miss her own hometown.

"This is just like Two Rivers, only a little busier," Dawn Star sighed. "I sure miss those times."

Sing broke his gaze and stared at Dawn Star. He had heard of the fate of Two Rivers. "You used to live in Two Rivers?"

Dawn Star nodded sadly. "It was where I grew up. It was the only place where I really belonged. But that day, it was all taken away from me. My fellow students, my only family were all slaughtered by the Lotus Assassins and Gao the Greater's men."

Sing stood there, stunned by her horrible story. Kin walked up to Dawn Star.

"I remember, Dawn Star," Kin's voice began to crack "I-I was there. Deep inside I was horrified, but my brother's grasp forced me to attack your home. I know there is nothing I can say that will bring them back, but…"

"No…no it's all right," Dawn Star choked back tears and forced a smile. "You were forced against your will and I know you would have stopped them if you could. Besides, I've come to accept it and move on."

"We're here!" Kang called from the front. Everyone realized that they had just landed on a field. They all began to move out of the Dragonfly.

"Let's go," Dawn Star moved ahead, hiding her face from the rest. Sing wanted so bad to say something to comfort her, but no words came out. But now was not the time; he had to save his master. But something was still lingering in the back of his mind. If a small innocent looking village like Two Rivers could not escape the Lotus Assassins' attention, how much better would Moon's Point have if they were searching for him?

Wild Flower and Han Sing led the way down a road. Everyone looked around and saw people in the fields sowing the soil and little children playing with the dogs. Though simple, the locals seemed happy and content. They stopped at a hut that appeared no different from all the others. Sing pushed the front door open and the rest walked in right behind him. As they all got in, they saw an old man on a chair. He had long white hair tied in a pony tale and a long pale moustache that drooped twice as long as Hou's. His hands resembled a skeleton's, if the skin had not been intact. It was obvious he was very weak. His eyes gleamed with joy as he looked at Sing.

"Master Tong, I have returned!" Sing gestured a bow.

"Ah, there you are…Silent Star!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I hope by now people have a general idea of who Han Sing is. I know he's a OC and so I have to talk about who he is and how he ties in to the plot. If I haven't made it clear, let me know. All I can say is that he is basically the center of the plot. Also if any of the characters seem out of character let me know too. Thanks!


	4. Silent Star

**Author's Note:** Just a quick note that I forgot to address earlier. Dawn Star, Hou and Sky have not aged during the twenty years that they have been bounded. So they are currently the same age as they were at the end of the game. It's as if they were suspended between life and death.

**Chapter 4**

Two days passed since the group came to Moon's Point. Master Tong seemed delighted when Han Sing brought home friends. Since the village was sparsely populated and so out of the way, it was rare to have visitors. Master Tong allowed Sing and Wild Flower's friends to stay at their home so that they all could rest and recuperate before they set off on their journey. There were a lot of questions that they all sought answers for, but not without at least a couple of days' rest. It was now morning and everyone was tending to their own activities. Hou was diligently preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Not surprisingly, he was preparing what he did best: buns. Even after twenty years, he had not lost his talent as a cook. Sky was practicing his sword skills outside with Wild Flower sitting on the grass watching him. Kang spent the morning exploring the town. He had asked the locals if they happened to have any dragon powder for the Dragonfly's weapons, but no luck. Dawn Star had woken up only to see empty bed sheets around her indicating she was the last to wake up. She rubbed her eyes and tied her hair back into her usual ponytail. She noticed Sun Kin meditating at the other end of the room. His eyes opened at the sound of Dawn Star getting to his feet.

"Dawn Star, you're awake," Kin got on his feet as well. "Did you sleep well?"

Dawn Star yawned and smiled. "Yes, I did. It feels good to sleep soundly for once. I haven't slept for twenty long years, I almost forgot what it was like to sleep."

"I know what you mean," Kin said. "As Death's Hand, I was always alert. I was forced to be ready to carry out the will of the Emperor whenever it was required of me. To be honest, I had lost all hope of ever my spirit set free when Kun claimed my soul as his. Now that Sing has come, it is more than I could have ever hoped for."

"I know, but I am glad, Uncle Kin. Glad that I could have the chance to meet you and to know that you are not like my father and Sun Hai."

"Well, your friend does not seem to see it that way."

Dawn Star gave him a strange look. "Who said that?"

Sun Kin pointed out the window. Sky and Wild Flower were off in the distant field, catching up. "Your friend, Sky."

"Oh, Sky has his own demons to deal with. I think he was every bit as shocked as I was when Kun betrayed us for power. It's not surprising that he would have a hard time trusting anyone after that."

"What about you? Do you trust me?"

Dawn Star taken back a bit by that question. "Well, it's obvious your brothers tricked you in the past with their lies. I'm sure you would have tried to stop them if you'd known the truth, so yes I trust you."

"Thank you, Dawn Star, that means a lot to me," Kin said, but a second later he frowned.

"What's wrong, Uncle Kin?"

Kin shook his head. "Nothing, it's just that…whenever I look at you, it reminds me of your mother."

Dawn Star's eyes widened. "My…my mother?"

"Yes. You never knew her, I know. But there is something that I must tell you about her: Before you were born, she knew that your father's position as head of the Imperial Army would put his life at risk if he had ever gone into battle. She came to me and said that if anything were to happen to him or her, she requested that I look after you. I promised I would. Unfortunately, I met my apparent end during the siege at Dirge and soon after, your mother would have met her end as well."

"Uncle Kin…"

"But now that I've been given a second chance, I can fulfill the promise I gave to your mother," Sun Kin cut her off before she could say anything. "I promise I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are safe."

"Thank you, Uncle Kin." Dawn Star said. "Tell me, what was my mother like?"

Sun Kin thought for a moment, gathering all that he could remember. "Her name was Wei. She was a very beautiful woman and was always full of life, just like you. She was the sole ray of light in a family that was shrouded by corruption. She was kind and had a caring spirit. I remember she used to be a woman of the people. Despite living in royalty, she would frequently go among the common peasants and tended to their needs. Even now, I could not fathom how anyone could order the death of such an innocent and pure soul. If anyone, brother Hai deserved it."

Dawn Star was speechless. Even if she never knew her own mother, she felt the grief as if she had known her all her life.

"Had I had known the true nature of my brother's mission, I would have been there to protect both you and your mother," Kin continued.

Dawn Star looked him in the eye with compassion. Even after all the pain he had cause against his own will, she felt no animosity against him, only pity. "It's not your fault, Uncle Kin. The important thing is that we are here together now. I know you would have tried to save us if you could. Thank you for telling me about her, and…thank you for everything."

She walked over and gave her uncle a hug. He returned the embrace.

"You're welcome."

They let go of each other just as Hou walked out of the kitchen with two plate of steaming buns.

"Breakfast is ready, everyone!" Hou called just loud enough so Sky and Wild Flower could hear from outside. He looked at Dawn Star and Kin. "Hey, where is Sing and Master Tong?"

"They both went up a hill just north of here. Master Tong told us to eat first and to not wait for them," Kin explained. "Apparently they both had a lot to discuss."

* * *

"You have made me proud, Silent Star," Master Tong croaked. "Obtaining the amulet is no small feat. I can see that you have kept the lessons I taught you at heart."

The master and student sat alone together in a grassy field about a mile away from the village. The breezes were gentle and the silence was soothing. Sing, who was focusing hard on the amulet, relaxed his concentration and faced his master.

"Thank you, Master Tong. My mind and body is almost fully adaptable with the amulet. Once that happens, I will be able to transfer my spiritual energy to you and heal you. But there is something I would like to ask you first."

"What is it, my student?" Master Tong asked patiently.

"Well, as I was making my way into the palace, I was caught by Emperor Kun. I managed to suppress his godly powers with blood, but he still managed to use his martial skill against me. Through impulse, I made an attack on him but he didn't even try to defend. With one strike, I was able to kill him. With all due respect, Master Tong, you've taught me well but my training is incomplete. In terms of raw skill, it would be impossible for me to defeat him. Were there any special properties to the styles that you've taught me?"

Master Tong blinked once, then frowned. He turned his gaze away from Silent Star. He didn't answer at first. "Then it is true…My student, your training is complete. There is nothing more I can teach you."

Sing was not satisfied. "Even so, master, I must know, I can see that you do know something. Please, Master Tong."

There was a moment of silence. Sing could sense of bit of uneasiness in his master's demeanor. Master Tong used his cane to pull himself up. He staggered a few steps and stopped as he looked into the horizon. Sing waited patiently for an answer.

"My student," Master Tong murmured at last. "What you have told me has confirmed suspicions I have had for a long time. Now that they are, it is vitally important that you know the truth."

"What truth?" Sing pressed, getting up and walked to Tong's side.

Master Tong sighed. "There is nothing I have taught you that you do not fully understand. Given the circumstances, I have no choice but to tell you the truth about everything and your role in it. I am not who you think I am. The same is true for the Empire that you know. You see, I am just more than a humble master. I used to be a member of the Celestial Bureaucracy. But I was stripped from by position because I was 'neglecting responsibilities.' I was banished and was forced to live my days as a mere mortal."

"Master, you were a god?" Silent Star gasped.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Tong nodded. "But the Bureaucracy is in turmoil right now. Ever since Emperor Kun came into power, the Bureaucracy viewed him as a serious threat. They believed that with the use of the Dragon Amulet, Kun's power would continue to grow until he was strong enough could be even challenge the heavens and overthrow the Bureaucracy! They could not agree on a way to stop him. The Bureaucracy felt that letting the natural order decide the outcome would ultimately lead to their demise, so they decided to take action."

Sing didn't know what to say. He was still stunned at the revelation his master had just told. "Then, how do I factor into all this?"

"The Bureaucracy did agree on one thing: Kun had to be stopped. Eventually, they concluded that he could not be allowed to possess the amulet any longer. If the amulet were to be taken away, it would remove the threat against the heavens. He would also not be allowed to hold the Water Dragon's power anymore. They felt it was time that that power must return to the heavens. Now that you have told me that you defeated the Emperor, I believe you were meant to be the one to carry out the will of the heavens."

"But why me?" Sing demanded, still not quite believe all this. "I am just a simple student; of all the people in the world, why is this burden put on my shoulders?"

Tong finally faced his student. "The heavens act as they will, it is not our place to question their authority. I do not have all the answers, but I do recall the day Wild Flower and I found you as an infant just after your parents were killed by Rat demons. There was a falling star that made its way down to earth. But there was something strange about that star. When it touched the ground, there was no impact or sound. I believe that was an celestial omen…that is why I gave you the title 'Silent Star.' Perhaps the heavens granted you a heavenly gift that made it possible for you to defeat Kun."

"Did Wild Flower know too?" Sing said. Master Tong remained in silence and lowered his head as if in thought. That was enough of an answer for Sing.

"I'm sorry, my student…"

"Master…why did you both keep this from me for so long?" Sing's voice grew firm.

"Chai Ka was the one who told me about the current situation in the Bureaucracy. But I wasn't sure I believed it myself. I did not want you to be burdened with information that was not concrete. I did not want you risk your life sneaking into the palace, but since I acquired this sickness, you refused to sit by and let me die. But now, I am glad you did, for now your path is set, my student."

Master Tong slowly moved towards his student and placed his fragile hand on his shoulder. "Silent Star, you have been a excellent student. There is nothing left to learn from me. I have taught you techniques, but you must discover for yourself what it means to be a true warrior. You must find and retrieve the Water Dragon's essence, for as long it is lost, the souls of the dead cannot rest, just like during the rule of Sun Hai. The Bureaucracy will not be stabilized if balance is not restored. My student, your journey will have many hardships and you may encounter many enemies, but remember the knowledge that you will gain along the way. Remember all that I've taught you."

Master Tong coughed hard as he clutched his chest. His breathing grew heavy. Sing grabbed his master's arm, supporting him from collapsing. He reached for the Dragon Amulet with this free hand.

"Master, you need treatment now," Sing said, setting his master down on a nearby rock. "I think I am ready to use the amulet now."

"Wait…" Master Tong whispered through his wheezing. "First, I must I must give you something."

Master Tong reached into his pocket and pulled out two items. One was an orange gem and the other was a stone shaped like a pyramid. He grabbed Sing's hand and placed the two items in his palm and closed it. Sing looked at his master confused.

"Listen carefully, my student," Master Tong pulled Sing closer. "I have no doubt that agents of the Imperial Palace will be hunting you down. You must take extra caution. I want you to go to the Great Southern Forest near your hometown in Tien's Landing. Use the Pyramid Stone to perform a ritual at the ancient ruins to summon a heavenly realm. Upon arriving, you will come across a large stone tablet. Use the essence gem on it and someone will meet you there."

"Who?"

Master Tong shook his head. "Let's just say he is someone I know very well. I am sure he will help you. Now enough questions. You must not waste any time."

"Alright." Sing said. He wasn't sure what his master is in such a hurry for, but he decided not to question it any further. He knelt down in front of Master Tong with his hands on the amulet. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the amulet. The amulet began to glow white. In an instant, Sing reached out with one hand slapped his palm on his master's shoulder. He could feel the energy flowing from his body, but something was not right. He expected that his spiritual energy would flow from his own into his master's, but the opposite was happening. He was actually sucking Master Tong's own energy into his! Master Tong groaned in pain and Sing was shocked. He tried to pull his arm away but an invisible force would not allow it. Tong's spiritual energy continued to leave his body for Sing's. The energy was now flowing into the amulet, which caused it to glow even brighter.

"Master! No!" Sing screamed as he saw his Master grow weaker and weaker. His face was almost completely absent of any color.

"No…it…can't be," Tong's voice trailed off as he breathed his last. Not until then was Sing able to break free, but it was too late. Master Tong was already lifeless.

As Sing realized what had happened, his blood turned cold. For a moment he refused to believe what had just happened, until reality got the better of him. In his mind, he kept telling himself that this was just part of the healing process, but somehow, he knew the opposite was true. He ran to this master's side and shook him but he remained still. Sing touched his neck but could find no pulse. That was when he knew for sure. He let go of his master's body and buried his face in his hands and cried. How could this happen?

Just then, he heard a rumbling sound. Sing realized that it was coming from the amulet on the ground. He got up and cautiously moved closer. The amulet was glowing white again. Soon the glow flashed so brightly, it blinded Sing for a moment. When he regained his sight, the glow was gone. In front of him, was a man kneeling on the ground. He wore white robes that signified that nobility and had fiery red eyes in the shadow of his long black hair. The glow of his eyes pierced through Sing's mind. The man smirked and got up to his feet.

"Free at last!" The man in white yelled in delight. "You have my thanks for releasing me and getting rid of that old goat at the same time! I must say that his spiritual energy was quite invigorating."

"You! You're the one who slew my master, you lummox!" Han Sing roared. "Who are you?"

The man smirked again. "I am the Grey Jackal, the trickster god of illusion. I am but a minor deity, but do not underestimate me, for I am full of surprises. Just like how I goaded you into freeing me from that damned amulet. I simply reversed the focus and fed on the old man's power when you intended to save him. When I had enough strength, I was able to break free. I will make sure Kun pays dearly for putting me in there."

"He's already dead, but why did you kill my master? Answer me!"

"There's not need to yell. Your master has caused the Bureaucracy great irritation. That is why he must be removed. But you say that the Emperor's dead? My, you seem to be quite of ahead of me. Perhaps the Bureaucracy was right about you."

"What are you talking about?" Sing demanded harshly, he was getting impatient. "Stop talking in circles. I want some answers now!"

Grey Jackal's eyes glittered. "You really have no idea what is going on do you? What did the old man tell you? That he was once part of the Bureaucracy? That he was thrown out because of incompetence? No. Like he said, things are not as they seem. But no matter, you've done your part. Now you're of no use to us anymore. There is no need to waste my breath telling you the truth now that you will die!"

Sing had heard enough. Consumed by rage, he charged toward the trickster and kicked him square in the chest before Grey Jackal could react. Stunned, the trickster god could not counter the flurry of punches that followed. A haymaker sent him reeling to the ground. Jackal shook the daze out of his head and countered with attack own. A green stream of mist escaped his hands and Sing's face was covered in it. Jackal struck the distracted Sing in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. Sing opened his eyes; he did not see his enemy, but an image of Master Tong flashed in his mind. It was the image of his dying breath playing over and over again in this mind. Over and over, Sing was forced to watch his frail and old master jerk in pain. The sound of his groans and cries ripped through his ears. Each time, his body would cause a large thump as it collapses on the ground.

"No…NO! Stop it!" Sing clutched his head and fell to the ground, tossing and turning trying to get the images out of his head. "What did you do TO ME?"

Leering at his helpless foe, Grey Jackal unsheathed a dagger from within his white robe and raised it high in the air. But before he could even bring it down, he felt a sharp strike from his back that sent him flying forward. Frustrated, he fought to regain his posture. The images in Sing's mind began to fade just in time.

"Don't you dare take him for yourself, Jackal," A familiar female voice taunted. "He's my prey."

"YOU!" Jackal's teeth clenched. "What are you doing here, you vixen!"

"Please, call me Silk Fox," the woman in black said. "Or did you forget who I am after all these years?"

Grey Jackal glanced at Sing, who remained silent and watched from the sidelines. Then he glared at Silk Fox. "I haven't forgotten. In fact, I still remember your annoying smirk just seconds before your precious husband imprisoned me. Now that I am free, I will get my chance at wiping it off your face, assuming that is what you have behind that mask of yours."

Silk Fox had her face covered by a black veil from the nose down. It was hard to tell what expression she was carrying but one could see it in her eyes. "You ungrateful dog! I had opted to have you killed right then, but the Emperor insisted that you be kept alive for his own purposes. If it were up to me you'd be a forgotten corpse by now. A jackal may be sly and crafty, but a fox is most dangerous when it is cornered."

"Enough!" Jackal yelled. "If you want to kill him yourself, fine! I have better things to do than to fool around with you. But make no mistake, I haven't forgotten you, Fox."

With that, a cloud of smoke enveloped the trickster god and as it cleared, he was gone. Silk Fox sighed and turned to Sing.

"Empress Lian," Sing began. "How did you find me? What happened to you? I never thought a stuck up, arrogant noble like yourself would go so low as dressing like one of the Emperor's lowly concubines."

"How dare you!" Fox snapped. "You attacked the Emperor and the Palace, that already is the most heinous of all crimes. You have a lot of guts to insult me like you did! My network of Lotus Assassins has done a fine job of tracking you down. I knew the best places to look would be the most unlikely ones."

"What do you want? You'd better leave before I make you leave."

"Ha! You would _make_ me leave?" Silk Fox sneered. "Don't make me laugh! I just wanted to repay for what you took from me! My husband is dead because of you and now I will enjoy seeing you suffer by taking something dear from you."

"What are you talking about?" Sing demanded.

"Turn around and find out."

Sing felt a compulsion to comply. He felt his eyes betray him once again. Off in the distance, he saw a stream of smoke rising to the sky. At the base of the smoke was glowing orange.

Sing's pulse stopped. "No…my home!"

"It hurts doesn't it?" Silk Fox mocked. She was obviously enjoying it. "You see what happens when you defy me? You brought this upon them. This has happened because of you."

Sing fell to his knees, burying his face to the ground, consumed in grief. The thought of all those innocent people, even the women and children dying as they were torn away from their families was too much to bear. Silk Fox knelt down low enough to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry, this will be completely painless."

Sing could hear the sound of a blade flying into the air. He was too much in sorrow to care anymore. He couldn't wait for blade to come down and end it all. Instead, he heard a female scream in pain. He brought his head up and saw his friends all lined up side by side just ten feet in front of him. In the middle was Sky, whose hand was engulfed in flames. They all stared hard at Silk Fox, who was recovering from the magic strike. The princess that was once their ally was now their bitter enemy whom they believe has been corrupted by Kun's promise for power. They could never forget the day she stood by Kun's side and betrayed them when they decided to poison the Water Dragon's body.

"You've really crossed the line, this time, Lian!" Dawn Star hissed. "What you have done is absolutely unforgivable."

"You can thank your friend for this consequence, dear cousin of mine," Silk Fox shot back. "If it wasn't for him, those people would still be alive."

"I don't want to hear your justifications, Fox!" Wild Flower yelled. "Those people had nothing to do with this! I never imagined you would be so heartless. But don't think you can count on your Lotus Assassins to back you up! We made sure none of them would escape the village alive after what they did."

Silk Fox ignored her and her eyes caught on to Sun Kin. "Ah, dear uncle. Did you betray the throne and side with these peasants as well? No matter, I'll dispose all of you and find someone else to take the place of the armor. I don't need a weakling like you. We're not finished. We'll meet again!"

A bright purple column of light consumed the Empress and she disappeared once the light was gone. They all saw Han Sing, still on his knees watching the horror of this only home burning in the horizon. His childhood memories originated from there, were now up in flames. Wild Flower knelt down beside him. The both had grown to know a lot of good people over the years. They dreaded the thought of them being gone.

"Can't believe it's all gone, Wild Flower," Sing said emotionlessly. "Master Tong…the village…everything."

"Sing, I'm sorry…" Wild Flower murmured, she could feel tears forming in her eyes. The two embraced cried together. The rest of them watched in sadness. Dawn Star especially knew what it was like to lose a hometown. A few minutes later, The Marvelous Dragonfly swooped through the skies and landed near the group. Kang ushered everyone to get on.

"Sing," Wild Flower said between her crying. "Let's bury our master first. He deserves at least much."

Sing nodded reluctantly. They both turned to the spot where Master Tong's body was. But something was wrong. The body was missing…

"What?" Wild Flower said as she pointed at the stop. "He was just there when we got here, now he's…gone."

"What the hell…?" Was all Sing could say.

* * *

_Whew! That was quitea ride! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I hope it was dramatic enough. I would greatly appreciate reviews and feedback from you guys. Seriously, my goal is to make this story as enjoyable as possible for you guys and I can't improve without your guys' input. I like praise and constructive criticism! Thanks!_


	5. A Tale of Two Stars

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to express my appreciation to all those who have taken the time to read and review my work. All of your input has been very valuable and has helped me grow as a writer. I hope you will continue to read and enjoy my fic. Remember that I am always more than happy to hear what you think! Thanks!

**Chapter 5**

Even from a distance, the trail of smoke above Moon's Point was still visible. Han Sing watched the crumbled remains of his hometown drift farther and farther away onboard the Marvelous Dragonfly. All his memories growing up in the small village went literally up in smoke. He had known a lot of good people in his upbringing and he knew he would never see them again. He hadn't even bothered going back into town, deciding that he'd rather spare himself the horror of watching everything dear to him crumble up close.

Wild Flower seemed to be taking it the hardest. She was sitting on the floor, crying softly over the loss her only home. Dawn Star wrapped her arm around Wild Flower, doing her best to comfort her. There was nothing but silence among the group, only the sound of the engine running could be heard. Sing took one last look at Moon's Point before withdrawing and he sat himself against the wall, filled with sorrow. His mind was focused on Master Tong. He, as well as everyone else on the vehicle, was completely baffled over the disappearance of Tong's body. Not to mention the appearance of this Grey Jackal.

He got up and walked over to the cockpit and told Kang the Mad to set his course for the Great Southern Forest near Tien's Landing. Then he took out the two artifacts that his master gave him before their departure. Someone was supposed to help them when they arrived.

"Master Tong…the village…it's all gone…" Wild Flower bellowed between each sob.

"No, Wild Flower," Sing said. "Somehow I don't think Master Tong is dead. He said he used to be a god. I doubt he could die so easily."

"Then why did he disappear? Why didn't he come with us?" Wild Flower cried.

"I…I don't know, Wild Flower," Sing was at a loss for words. "None of this makes any sense. But I know that Master Tong is out there somewhere."

"I'm sorry, Wild Flower," Sky knelt down beside her. "I could live to be as old as the Empire itself and I could never forget the faces of all those people that died by the hands of the Lotus Assassins."

"There was no stopping it," Hou sighed as he poured tea into cups and passed it around. "The Assassins overwhelmed us. We knew we wouldn't be able to stand up to them all until Kang came swooping down and picked them off. But it was too late; the fire had already been set. The dying was everywhere, one by one the Assassins killed all the villagers and burned down their homes."

"Not to mention that with the Water Dragon's essence gone, there is no one to shepherd the souls of those who died. Thus, the Great Wheel cannot turn. I'm afraid their souls will end up lost wandering in the mortal world," Sun Kin interjected.

"The Great Wheel?" Sing said.

"Yeah," Sky interrupted. "Imagine your life as a wheel. As it turns, you move from birth to death then back to life again. A new life in the Great Wheel is always different and you will have no memory of your previous life, but your spirit will remain the same. Our new life is determined by how we lived our previous life. In striving to achieve harmony, we are a step closer to becoming one with the universe. If one lived a life of evil, a person could be reborn as a demon. But with the Great Wheel unattended, rebirth is not possible."

"Interesting, how do you know all this, Sky?" Sing asked.

Sky gave a sly smirk. "When you live a life as a rogue, you travel quite a bit. It's impossible not to learn a thing or two on your journeys."

"Well then it sounds like you've traveled quite a bit," Sing asked, taking a sip of tea. "But what kind of a ruler would so cruelly slaughter their own innocent people?"

"The kind that my own cousin has become," Dawn Star said with resentment. "Her lust for power was influenced by Kun. She threw her morals and ideals aside for the power that he promised. I never liked her much, but I didn't expect that her ambitions would cloud her judgment."

"I understand it is hard to accept," Sun Kin empathized. "Even I can barely believe that this was the same Lian that once rebelled against her own father's tyranny. Now perhaps she has surpassed him in that aspect. I cannot say that I am proud of her for that."

"Why? Are you jealous that it is she who has the throne and not you?" Sky blurted out.

Everyone was shocked at Sky. Some had already begun to suspect Sky's lack of trust in Kin, but they never imagined that he would express it so openly.

"Sky, what's the matter with you?" Wild Flower replaced her tear-stained face with a scowl.

"Look, we are talking about the man who used to be Death's Hand. Even if he is free who knows what kind of dark influence he may have? I'm not comfortable that he's traveling with us." Sky narrowed his eyes at Kin.

"Please, I assure you, I mean no harm to any of you. I just merely wish to redeem myself for my past sins," Kin said.

"Sky, you and I were bounded by the same power, too," Hou pointed out. "We turned out fine."

"No, I could sense something was different about him in that armor. Something evil that separated him from us," Sky countered. "Besides, he comes from a family that has been corrupted by the pursuit of power. Who's to say he wasn't planning on taking the Water Dragon's power himself if he had the chance during the fall of Dirge? He's probably using our help to get rid of Lian so he can assume the throne."

Dawn Star's face hardened, she jumped up and faced Sky. "Oh, and what about me? Are you saying that I am like my father and my uncle before him?"

"No…but," Sky's expression loosened. "Dawn Star, you're different…"

"Don't give me that, Sky!" Dawn Star snapped. "Uncle Kin has shown me he has good intentions. Remember that he saved our lives at Dirge, including yours. You should be thanking him, not treating him as a suspect."

"Well, that may be so, but I'm not going to let my guard down."

Sing appeared right between them. "Alright, that's enough! I won't have us arguing amongst ourselves. Look Sky, I understand your concerns, but I agree with Dawn Star, Kin has put himself at personal risk to save us and I trust him. Things are already bad enough so we need to stand together if we are going to get through all of this, alright?"

Sky turned his gaze to Sun Kin, who returned a pleading stare. He looked back at Sing and Dawn Star, eager to hear his response. Something was definitely in his mind, but he decided not to share it yet.

"Fine," Sky conceded, not wanting to press the subject any further. He turned and sat himself away from the rest and swallowed down the tea that Hou prepared. Kin felt a bit uncomfortable after that argument, but he figured it was best to let Sky calm down. More than ever, he wanted to prove to them that he was worthy of their trust.

There was another moment of silence among them. Dawn Star went and sat down on her own spot. Sing was still standing, still thinking about Master Tong. Then, without warning…

"Um…everyone!" Sing raised his voice for all to hear. Everyone gave his full attention, even Kang who was navigating the Dragonfly. "I have a request to make. I know this make sound a bit silly, but from this moment I am abandoning the name of Han Sing. My master gave me the title of "Silent Star" as a child and I wish to honor him by retaining that title. So would you all refer to me as such from now on?"

Everyone nodded in unison. No one could question his request for the sake of Master Tong. Satisfied, Silent Star bowed and sat next to Dawn Star. He was greeted with a smile and a look of curiosity from her.

"Could I have a word with you in private?" Dawn Star asked shyly.

"Uh…sure," Silent Star replied. He had wanted to talk to Dawn Star for a long time. The two got up and went into the cargo room in the back and closed the door. There was a bench nearby and they both sat down.

"I just wanted to say thank you for sticking up for Uncle Kin and me out there." Dawn Star said.

"Don't mention it, I was just try help. Besides, I know that your uncle is a good man." Silent Star replied.

"I know. By the way, I wanted to ask you about your title your master gave you. That is an interesting title," Dawn Star said. "Why were you given that title?"

Silent Star grinned. "Oh, my master gave me that name because on the day he and Wild Flower found me as a baby, there was a falling star that landed on the earth that seemed to make no impact or sound. My master thinks it was an omen, but I have no idea of what it means. But what about you, Dawn Star? I've been meaning to ask you for a while. You have an unusual name too."

"I was named for a red glow opposite the morning sun on the night when Dirge fell to my uncle, Emperor Sun Hai." Dawn Star explained. "That red glow was Dirge burning. I was born at that time in the Imperial Palace, the only place in the Empire where the red glow could be seen. I think because of that omen, I was given a strange ability to sense and communicate with dead spirits."

"You can talk to the dead?"

Dawn Star nodded. "Yes, I remember I was shunned by many people in Two Rivers because of my powers. People grew afraid and wary of me because they thought I was conjuring up the dead."

"That must be hard on you, Dawn Star," Silent Star said softly. "I know what that's like. People in Moon's Point always teased me saying I was mute because of my title, so I decided to take on my family name, whom my master told me was "Han."

"Thank you, it is nice to know that someone knows what I went through," Dawn Star smiled graciously.

"You're welcome. But if you were born into royalty, how did you end up in Two Rivers?" Silent Star asked tentatively.

Dawn Star frowned. "My father, Sun Li betrayed his brother the Emperor at Dirge. As a response, he ordered that my mother and I be killed. I had just been born when the Lotus Assassins killed my mother and was about to kill me too, but one of them had a change of heart and killed his comrades. He escaped with me and brought me to my father, who went into hiding in Two Rivers and assumed the identity of a simple martial arts master. He raised me at the school, never knowing that I was his daughter. All my life, I longed to know who my parents were. I was appalled when I found out what kind of person my father really was. Growing up, he was the only one who accepted me despite my strange powers. Actually two, my father and _him_."

"Him?" Silent Star echoed.

"Kun the Immortal Phoenix," Dawn Star said. "We grew up together and became best friends in Two Rivers. Whenever I was down, he was always there for me. We were inseparable. He always had a special place in my heart."

"Did you…love him?" Silent Star asked.

Dawn Star shrugged. "I…I thought I did. He always encouraged me to strive to be the best I can. His confidence made me feel like I can take on the world. Even when Two Rivers was destroyed, he was always there to talk and to reassure me that everything would be okay. But then, he changed. When my father betrayed and killed him, Kun wandered the Spirit Realm. When the Water Dragon restored him, he was different. He was cold and distant. It seemed like the only thing he had in mind was getting revenge on my father. I think death had changed him for the worst. When he defeated my father…well you know what happened next."

"That must be heartbreaking for you, Dawn Star. I can't fathom how you must have felt to see the goodness of someone you care about disappear."

Dawn Star forced a smile. "I appreciate your concern. But, being bounded all those years has changed me too. It has strengthened my resolve and I've grown to be stronger because of it."

"That's good to hear. So if you were born in the royal family, that should make you a princess, right?"

"Yes, by tradition I would be. But given the circumstances after my birth, I was forced out of the palace. My cousin, Sun Lian grew up as a princess while I had to away from heavy attention, never knowing my true heritage until later in life."

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you would have been a wonderful princess," Silent Star said awkwardly.

Dawn Star flushed pink. "That's a sweet thing to say. But I'm sorry; I've been talking your ear off about my past. Thank you for listening."

"It's alright. I enjoy talking to you. It looks like we have things in common. We were both named 'Star' and we share the loss of our hometowns."

"Yes we do. I'm…glad we met, Silent Star," Dawn Star said, smiling.

"Me too." Silent Star smiled back. "Um...Dawn Star, do you have, you know...an actual name?"

Dawn Star began to shake her head, but then a thought popped in her mind. She remembered what Sun Kin told her about her mother. She thought about Silent Star's request about his name. Then, she began to think about the same thing.

"Yes, it's Wei," Dawn Star said, smiling at the fact that Silent Star doesn't know the whole deal. "Sun Wei."

"Wow, that's a beautiful name," Silent Star marveled. "What would you rather have me call you?"

"You know, I think I am starting to like my real name." Dawn Star said.

"Alright then, Sun Wei it is." Silent Star acknowledged.

For a moment, they both stared into each other's eyes. It was as if they were lost in a dream. That moment seemed to take an eternity. Their faces slowly moved closer...then stopped. Sun Wei broke the gaze and looked away as Silent Star broke his too. They faced away from each other, feeling a bit awkward.

"Thank you for this talk. I hope we can discuss this more in the future," Wei said, still not facing the other "Star."

Before Silent Star could respond, the cargo door flew open and Sky popped in.

"Hey, if you two are done playing Seven Minutes in Heaven, we have a problem outside," Sky said with frustration.

The two 'Stars' quickly glanced at each other, red-faced. Then rushing of the cargo room. They rejoined the rest of the group.

"What's going on?" Silent Star demanded.

Wild Flower came up and grabbed Silent Star's arm. "We're nearing Tien's Landing, but there are Imperial capital ships in the area and they've spotted us! There's no doubt that they're going to attack us!"

Silent Star looked out the side window and saw four massive capital ships off in the distance, each being propelled by four afterburners, sails firmly in the air. On the side of the ships was an insignia of a red hand with a black lotus in palm.

"It's the Lotus Assassins!" Silent Star exclaimed. "But what are they doing here in Tien's Landing?"

"We can discuss that later, for now we have to evade them," Sun Kin said.

Silent Star ran up to the cockpit to meet Kang. "Kang! You've designed those flyers, right? So you know how to deal with them, right?"

"Erm, yes, I did!" Kang said. "I made sure no flyer would have the kind of maneuverability the Marvelous Dragonfly has. Those capital ships cannot hit us. But the Mosquito flyers may be a problem."

"Look! They're releasing the Mosquito flyers!" Wei yelled.

True to her word, they could see five miniature flyers that were half the size of the Marvelous Dragonfly swarmed out of the hangars of each of the four capital ships. They flew in squads of five in a "V" formation. In time, the Mosquito flyers caught up to the Dragonfly and began firing their cannons. Kang swerved the Dragonfly in a zigzag motion, just barely avoiding the shots being rained on it.

"They're coming in too fast! There's too many of them!" Wild Flower shrieked.

On the cockpit, Kang was pulling a series of switches while avoiding the attacks of the enemy flyers. "Fire at my Dragonfly, will they. I've got some tricks of my own."

The floor inside the Dragonfly flipped open and two chairs came up with a cannon in front of each. The two turrets moved and secured themselves on the starboard and port side of the Dragonfly. The cannons protruded out the window of each side. Everyone looked at them in surprise. Kang looked back at them.

"I need two of you to man those turrets and try to shoot them down."

Silent Star jumped on the starboard side while Sky had the port side. Kang made a dive just low enough to be right above the trees. The idea was to keep enemy flyers from attacking from under them. Sky and Silent Star began targeting flyers and firing back as they made passes around the Dragonfly. They were not used to the controls, but they managed to get the hang of them quickly enough. Two Mosquito flyers swooped down from above and hit their mark as their cannon fire struck the Dragonfly in the rear. The impact shook the Dragonfly and knocked everyone inside off balance. Small embers burned in the back, leaving behind a trail of smoke above the afterburner.

"We're hit!" Wei yelled in panic.

"The damage is not bad. We're not out of this yet!" Kang reassured.

Sky and Silent Star regained their posture and continued to fire upon the other flyers. A cluster of three flyers came from the port side, giving Sky a large area of target. He pointed his cannon in the general direction and fired two shots. Both hit the two front flyers and the third one from behind ran into the flaming debris; all three exploded and fell to the earth.

"Foxes-eye!" Sky yelled in glee.

The enemy flyers began to spread out more as a result, now they were literally coming from all directions, making them harder to hit. Silent Star focused on just one, ignoring the rest. Once he got a feel for the targeted flyer's flight pattern, he made his move and blew the flyer into a fiery explosion. Another passing by starboard side slowed down, possibly distracted from the previous explosion, giving Silent Star enough time to land his next shot onto the unfortunate flyer, engulfing it into flames. But their celebration was short lived when the two shooters ran out of dragon powder.

"Oh no! We're out of powder! Kang do you have extra powder?" Sky called out.

"Uh…well, no," Kang said sheepishly. "I didn't expect we would come up against so many flyers."

"Oh great! Now what are we going to do?" Sky let himself fall on the seat's back.

The Dragonfly suddenly shook hard again. The shock threw everyone off balance again. This time, the ceiling caved in and smoke was filling up the Dragonfly. Everyone was coughing hard and they struggled to open the other window to let the smoke out. The Dragonfly was beginning to become more unstable and shaky. It didn't look like it could take much more damage.

"No! One more hit and we may be done for!" Hou screamed.

"Hey! The flyers are pulling out! I think they are returning to refill their cannons! We can't afford another wave of attacks, we'll be shot down for sure!" Wild Flower exclaimed.

The Mosquito flyers pulled back and flew towards the capital ships. The hangars on the four cruisers opened up to reveal ship personnel ready to refill the small flyers' arsenal. Kang gritted his teeth, thinking hard on what they could do. Then, it hit him…

"Oh, I hoped we didn't come to this," Kang muttered, then he reached under his seat and pulled out a small black cube the size of a melon. The cube was chalky and more resembled a chunk of coal more than anything. He turned around to the group.

"Sing…er I mean Silent Star! Take this and load it into the cannon and fire it into one of the capital ships!" Kang reached his hand with the black cube. Silent Star took it in his hands carefully.

"Okay! But what is it?"

"Don't ask questions, just do it!" Kang said.

Without further question, Silent Star opened up the loading compartment of the cannon and slid the cube inside. He shut the compartment and aimed the cannon at the closest cruiser off in the horizon. He steadied his aim and squeezed the lever. The black cube launched out of the Dragonfly and towards the fleet. They group watched anxiously as they watched the new line of enemy flyers almost ready for their next attack. The cube punctured the side of the targeted capital ship and disappeared inside. Nothing happened. They all watched in horror as the new swarm of enemy flyers began to fly out.

"Kang! Nothing happened, we're done for now for sure!" Wild Flower yelled.

In the cockpit, Kang had a smile on his face. In one hand, he had a small box with a switch in it. "I'm going to miss that extra Inscrutable Power Source…but the results will be worth it."

With that, Kang flipped the switch. From the Dragonfly's windows, the group saw a massive explosion from the ship with the Inscrutable Power Source that quickly engulfed the other three cruisers and the nearby flyers in a matter of seconds. The blast seemed to cover every inch of the sky and blinded everyone like a bright sun. The enemy ships were no more as well as the several hundred acres of forest from under it. Everyone watched in shock, but eventually turned to cheer as they had beaten their pursuers. Clapping and laughter filled the Dragonfly. Though sustaining considerable damage and was running quick unstable, the Dragonfly was holding up. Everyone was expressing their praise to Kang.

"Kang, my man! You're a genius!" Sky patted the inventor on the back.

"You are truly worthy of the name 'Mad!' Wild Flower rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad to be on your side!" Silent Star joked.

"That was the biggest crater yet!"Wei beamed.

"They'll think twice now that they know who they're up against!" Kin pointed at Kang.

"That was SCARY!" Hou screamed.

Silent Star jumped into the cockpit right beside Kang. "Alright, Kang! Onward to the Great Southern Forest!"

"Alright then, hold on, this may be quite a rough landing!" Kang steadied the Dragonfly as best he could.

"Next time, I'll try _two_ Inscrutable Power Sources!" Kang grinned as he pulled the thrusters to their next destination.

* * *

_Well, well, that was quite a ride, huh? Lots of explosions (I love Kang to death)! Anways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. One thing though, if you guys think the name changes for Han Sing to Silent Star and Dawn Star to Sun Wei is a dumb idea, or is just too confusing, let me know and I can change it back to their original names. I just thought it would be a cool idea to have. Let me know what you guys think!_


	6. Questions Unanswered

**Chapter 6**

Kang the Mad laid the Marvelous Dragonfly down carefully on the same campsite that it rested twenty years ago at the edge of Tien's Landing. Kang made doubly sure to land the flyer in an area that was surrounded by trees to cover their position from anyone they did not want to detected by, most notably the Lotus Assassins. Before they exited, Dawn Star told everyone that she adopted the name Sun Wei.

"I think it fits perfectly, that you could take up that name in your mother's honor," Kin showed his approval.

"Oh, I see," Silent Star said. "So that was your mother's name?"

"What's with all the name changing all the sudden?" An irritated Sky scratched his head. "First Sing, now you, Dawn Star. Did you guys decide to give each other affectionate pet names or something?"

"None of your business, Sky!" Wei retorted. "I happened to like that name and I would appreciate it if you would call me that from now on."

Sky playfully bowed. "Alright, your highness. Whatever you say."

Wei rolled her eyes and pushed the entrance ramp open and everyone moved out. For most of them, save for Silent Star and Kin, being back in Tien's Landing brought back memories. For Silent Star, this was where the omen that marked his destiny occurred twenty years ago.

Kang was the last one to exit. He had three crystals in his hands. "Umm…before you leave, there is something I want to show you all," he said as he displayed the three green-hued crystals; each was laced in the form of a necklace.

"What is it, Kang?" Silent Star asked.

"These are special crystals, for communication purposes; 'comstals' as I proudly call them. With it, you can communicate with another who has a comstal. A transparent display of the person you are talking to will show up on the crystal. They used to only work when they are stationary and would require a pile of these to work, but I recently found a way to make them portable. I think these would come in handy during our ongoing escapades."

"I remember those!" Wei blurted out. "I saw Inquisitor Lim used one of those to communicate with Grand Inquisitor Jia years ago when we were investigating Gao the Greater's operations."

Sky cringed at the mention of Gao the Greater, the man who was responsible for the enslavement and murder of his daughter. Even though he was dead, he could never forget that name, nor could he get over the loss of his daughter. But he decided not to say anything.

"Yes, the very same device, only this is smaller," Kang replied to Wei. "These were originally essence gems which were enchanted by the best sorcerers during Emperor Sun Hai's rein. These crystals are magical and all you have to do is call another person with a comstal and it will respond. However, there is a small drawback to this miniature version: the communication can only be possible within a certain distance. If two people were too far apart, it would not work."

"Understandable," Kin said. "I have used these before when I was Death's Hand. We made sure we could communicate with Lotus Assassins stationed all over the Empire. It was a means of monitoring the Empire to ensure that the will of the Emperor could be projected everywhere he wished."

"Indeed," Kang continued. "We can use these to communicate with each other. Unfortunately I only have three. I'll stay here with the Marvelous Dragonfly so I'll keep one. Silent Star, you should have one as well. Who will have the third?"

"If no one objects, I would like the third one," Hou said. Everyone looked at him warily. "While the rest of you are in the Great Southern Forest, I would like to gather supplies in town for when we depart. Since I am not a combatant, I would be a burden to you all."

"What kind of supplies are you referring to?" Kin asked.

"Well, there is a blacksmith in Tien's Landing. I could collect weapons for you. But more importantly, I want to go to the local teahouse and stock up on wine."

"Wine? In a serious time like this, you want to relax over a bowl of wine?" Sky said in disbelief.

"Sky, don't you remember?" Hou said defensively. "I used to be the best fighter in all of Phoenix Gate, until I was married my _charming _wife. My style requires that I drink. If I can get enough wine, I could help you all fight. I don't have my wife to order me around any longer, so I'm a free man!"

"Well, I guess we could use the supplies," Silent Star conceded. "But be careful, the Lotus Assassins may be in town. They don't recognize you as one who opposes the Emperor, so you should be fine, just don't do anything suspicious. While you're at it, see if you can get any information as to why the Lotus Assassins are here in Tien's Landing."

"Alright, let's go then," Hou said.

Save for Kang, the group moved out. Silent Star and Hou took the comstals and placed them around their necks. The forest was silent for the most part except for the occasional chirping of birds. The Marvelous Dragonfly was lucky to have found an open space among thick canopy of trees. Wei walked beside Wild Flower.

"Wild Flower, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Wei said.

"What is it?"

"What happened to Ya Zhen? Is he still dwelling inside you?" Wei asked.

Wild Flower blinked. "That's what I can't figure out. Since the Bureaucracy granted me life again, the Other just stopped appearing. My only guess is that they removed him. Maybe that was a way of them showing their gratitude for my services."

(I believe that possibility as well,) Chai Ka spoke from within Wild Flower. (The heavens do not forget those who come to their aid. I am delighted that Ya Zhen seems to have vanished from her body.)

Wei smiled warmly. "Well, that is wonderful news. No longer do you have to suffer from that horrible creature, Wild Flower."

They went back to walking in silence. After a while, Silent Star walked beside Wild Flower.

"You knew all along, didn't you, Wild Flower? About Master Tong being a god and my destiny?" Silent Star whispered.

Wild Flower lowered her head, then nodded slightly. "I'm sorry, Silent Star. Master Tong asked me to keep it from you until the time was right."

"But why?" Silent Star asked; there was a hint of resentment in his voice.

Wild Flower sighed. "He didn't want you to be burdened by it before you were ready. He wanted to make sure you were fully trained before you took on the task. He wished that your mind be focused and not be distracted with such thoughts of burden. But due to the circumstances, he had no choice. We were going to tell you eventually, Silent Star. We only wanted to do what was best."

"It's all right, Wild Flower. I understand now. But where do you think Master Tong is, and why would he just disappear on us like that?"

Wild Flower shrugged. "I don't know. There was much about Master Tong that even I don't know about. I am almost certain he is still alive. I guess we just have to trust that he is our master and that he will show himself when the time is right."

"I guess you're right," Silent Star conceded. "I just can't believe that out of everybody in this world, the Bureaucracy would choose such an ordinary person like me to carry out their work. It's a task that I feel is almost too much of a burden to bear. But then the Emperor did die by my hand. I suppose I should trust in the heavens."

Wild Flower placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know it must be hard for you, Silent Star. I felt the same way when the Guardian chose me to be his anchor. I was just a little girl back then and was lost in a large world. But I had the Guardian with me. The Bureaucracy made sure I was in good hands. I'm sure everything will turn out fine for you in the end."

"Yes, you're probably right," Silent Star said to his childhood friend. "So, this place is where you found me twenty years ago, Wild Flower?"

"Yes, you were just a baby when we found you," Wild Flower responded. "Your parents were already dead when we found you and the Rat Demons were about to kill you, but Master Tong and I drove them away."

"Oh," Silent Star said, looking glum. He remained quiet for the rest of the way until they reached the entrance to Tien's Landing. Even after twenty years, not much has changed. The town was still quiet and the people went about their business, though they didn't seem like happy common folk. The sea was still dry as a result of the damaged dam from many years ago. Life in Tien's Landing just looked dull.

"Well, this is my stop," Hou said. "Just reach me on the commustals if you need anything."

"Alright, take care of yourself," Kin said.

With that, Hou went his own way into town. Silent Star was in deep thought as he looked at the town. He turned to Wild Flower.

"Wild Flower, do you know if my parent are buried here?" Silent Star asked.

Wild Flower looked uncomfortable. "Well, um…I…ah, think they were buried somewhere near Tien's Landing."

Silent Star narrowed his eyes at Wild Flower; he could sense something was not right with her tone. "Really? Well, before we go to the shrine, I want to stop by Tien's Landing. I want to see their grave, you know, pay my respects."

"Um…I don't think that such a good idea," Wild Flower said hastily.

"Why not?" Silent Star raised an eyebrow

"Because…because there may be Lotus Assassins in town, and they'd recognize you." Wild Flower sputtered, grabbing Silent Star's arm.

Silent Star smiled slyly. He gently brushed off her arm. "I'll take my chances, I just want to see the parents that I never knew."

"Wait! No, Silent Star!" Wild Flower panicked.

"Wild Flower, what's wrong with you?" Wei scolded. "Silent Star simply wishes to pay respect to his parents. It's important to him."

"But…"

"What's wrong, Wild Flower?" Silent Star loomed over Wild Flower. "Is there something else that you're hiding from me?"

Wild Flower avoided his eyes. She was cornered with nothing to say anymore. Silent Star stood there for a minute, waiting if Wild Flower had any other objections. She didn't. He looked at Wei, who nodded and smiled.

"Well then, I will try to keep it short. I haven't forgotten why we are here but I just want to see my family. I'll be as quick as I can." Silent Star told the rest of them and began walking into town. He moved quickly to avoid any further objections.

Wild Flower sighed and followed the rest of the group into Tien's Landing. They walked past the small path that led them in front of the teahouse. This was where most of them met Hui the Brave who was being harassed by sailors. They stopped for a moment to look at the teahouse. People who exited tended to look drunk, though at least they looked considerably happier than the rest of the miserable faces in the town. They figured Hou was already inside stocking up his wine.

They continued walking. Dawn Star, Sky and Wild Flower failed to recognize anyone since everyone was either twenty years older or not living here anymore. Silent Star looked around for someone who looked like they may have lived in Tien's Landing for quite a long time. In short, he was looking for someone who has lived in the town for at least twenty years. He searched around through the sea of people, overlooking middle-aged peasants and children playing. Then Silent Star caught a glimpse of an old woman with a cane who was seated on a wooden chair. She looked like she was just passing time watching people pass by. The others followed closely behind as Silent Star walked towards the old lady. He gestured a bow.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Silent Star addressed politely. "May I ask you a question?"

"Certainly, child," The old woman croaked, getting up. "It is not like I have anything else better to do."

"Very well, then, how well do you know the people in this town?" Silent Star asked.

"Oh, I've lived in Tien's Landing all my life."

"Then would you happen to know the household name of Han?" Silent Star asked, hoping she would say yes.

The old woman wrinkled her forehead in deep thought. Then she relaxed her expression. "I'm sorry, but there is no one here in Tien's Landing with that surname. I've lived here all my life and people hardly move out or in. This town is small enough where everyone knows everyone else. I'm sorry, son."

Silent Star was dumbstruck. He didn't know whether to believe the old woman or take her as senile. But wasn't about to give up. He was determined to make sure.

"Wait a moment," Sun Kin whispered in Silent Star's ear. "Ask her about the falling star incident. Perhaps the town may have recovered your family's bodies but were unable to identify them because they were from out of town."

Silent Star nodded and relayed the question to the old woman. Her face lit up.

"Yes, I remember that day," the old woman replied. "There was a speeding bolt of light that fell from the sky and hit the ground. But no sound was heard. That was oddly strange. But to answer your question, we searched the area of the impact and the surrounding forests but nothing was found."

"Are you absolutely certain?" Wei pressed.

"Yes, we searched several times and found nothing."

Wei looked at Silent Star, who was equally stunned. _No! There must be some mistake! My parents had to have been there. Unless…unless Wild Flower lied…_ Silent Star thought. But he suddenly cursed himself for thinking such a thing. He had known Wild Flower all his life and he trusted her with his life. He was sure it was just a mistake. Still, he wanted to confirm that with Wild Flower. He turned to face Wild Flower. He searched all around and among his friends with him. Wild Flower was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Wild Flower?" Silent Star demanded to the group.

The rest of them looked frantically around them, for they had just noticed that she was missing.

"She's gone!" Sky exclaimed.

"Wait! Look!" Wei pointed off into a direction. The others looked to where she was pointing and they could see Wild Flower off in the distance. They barely caught a glimpse of her running off until she disappeared from sight into the woods. The others ran after Wild Flower.

"Wild Flower, stop!" Silent Star called out, but he knew it was futile.

"She's heading for the Great Southern Forest!" Wei shouted while running as fast as she could.

_Damn it! What does she think she's doing? _Silent Star thought with frustration. They worked hard to avoid any common folks as they made their way through the town and into the forest entrance. They stopped when they were well into the forest and Wild Flower was nowhere in sight. They stopped to catch their breath. The only way to go was a path that led to a flight of stone stairs at the other end of the open area.

"What…has gotten into…Wild Flower?" Wei gasped between breaths.

"I do not know, but I am certain that there is something she is hiding from us," Kin replied.

"Wild Flower," Silent Star hissed in a deadly voice. "She knows something about my parents. Why would she keep that from me?"

"Wait, Silent Star. Try talking to Kang, maybe he could fly over the forest and locate Wild Flower from above," Sky suggested.

"But what if there are Assassin patrols over the forest?" Silent Star pointed out.

Sky dismissed it with a wave. "I doubt that will be a problem. While you were talking to that woman, I overhead some people say that the Lotus Assassins all relocated to investigate the area where we were attacked. Kang should be fine."

"Alright," Silent Star grabbed the comstal necklace and spoke Kang's name. A minute later, a transparent image of Kang was visible on the crystal.

"What is it, Silent Star?" the image of Kang asked.

"Kang, we need you to fly around the Great Southern Forest. Wild Flower just ran off on her own and we can't find her," Silent Star explained hastily.

"Ran off? Why the heavens would she do that?" Kang wondered.

"I think she's hiding something from us, but for now, please find her," Silent Star said.

"Fine, if I find anything, I'll contact you," Kang responded and then his image faded.

Silent Star turned to his friends. "We should keep looking until Kang gives us an exact location on Wild Flower. Let's go!"

The four of them headed for the stone stairs and delved deeper into the forest. All around them was nothing but greenery of trees, bushes and the like. The occasional forest creatures would be seen then scurry off. For some reason, the Great Southern Forest looked more brown than green as Wei and Sky remember it.

"This forest seems like it is defiled by some great power, Sky," Wei sounded grave in her voice as the four walked through the thick forest.

"Yeah, and we all know who was responsible for this. I bet Kun must have killed the Forest Shadow in the last twenty years. The Empire has gotten a lot worse while we've been locked away," Sky added.

"Are you saying the Forest Shadow is dead?" Kin asked, shocked.

"I'm sure of it. He must have entered its heavenly realm and killed her himself," Wei replied.

"What is this Forest Shadow?" Silent Star asked with curiosity.

"The Forest Shadow was a Fox Spirit who guarded this forest. The entrance to her realm is here in the Great Southern Forest." Wei explained. "I bet Kun came here sometime during his reign and disposed of the Forest Shadow himself. Without her, this forest is susceptible to evil energy."

"Wow, I can't believe I've been so sheltered all these years from everything going on in this world," Silent Star said sheepishly.

"I'm sure that was the intent of your master," Kin offered. "It would be essential to guard you from anything that could potentially threaten your task for the Bureaucracy."

"That's right, Silent Star. They only wanted to protect you," Wei concurred with her uncle.

He narrowed his eyes at Wei. "When you say _they_, I assume you mean Wild Flower too? I'm sure Wild Flower knows something about Master Tong. Something that they don't want me to know about."

"Don't tell me you don't trust her now?" Wei scolded. "I've known Wild Flower for a long time and she is good person. So should you. The both of you grew up together."

Silent Star sighed. "I know, but more and more questions keep coming up and my mind is about to explode from trying to figure them out. Nothing seems to make sense."

Before anyone could say anything else, Silent Star a glow from under his nose. He looked down and saw his comstal light up. He grabbed it and Kang appeared.

"Silent Star, I've found her!" Kang beamed, he looked like he was trying to talk and fly the Dragonfly at the same time.

"Great, Kang. Where is she?" Silent Star asked.

"I spotted her in the ruins, where the gate to the heavenly realms is." Kang said.

"Okay, thanks! Just don't let her see you, we'll go apprehend her ourselves." Silent Star let his crystal drop on this chest. Since he had never been to this forest before, he had Sky lead the way to the ruins.

The four once again raced through the forest, with Sky in the front leading the way. The group took rights and lefts every so often as they navigated to a seemingly maze of a forest. Silent Star secretly prayed that nothing has happened to Wild Flower, though he was reminded that Chai Ka was with her. But he still wanted answers from her. The four ran for several more minutes before coming to a final group of steps that led up to the ruins. They slowed down and walked quietly to keep themselves from being spotted by Wild Flower. The four crept softly up the stair until they could just barely see Wild Flower from behind.

The ruins around them looked like some sort of abandoned monastery. In front of Wild Flower was an altar that had an impression of a gem, the same altar that Kun used to get into the Forest Shadow's realm. It was also the same location where Kun met the Black Whirlwind.

Concealed from sight, the four could see Wild Flower pulling out a gem of her own. She looked back and around to make sure no one is watching her. She then placed the gem into the impression on the altar. Across from the altar was a small building with two sets of stairs leading to portal that was created in the wake of Wild Flower's gem. She took it out and placed it back into her pocket. The four were naturally wondering where she was going. Wild Flower looked around one last time, before heading up the stairs that led to the portal. Silent Star couldn't stand by anymore. He jumped from his hiding place and ran after his childhood friend.

"Wild Flower, wait! Where are you going?" Silent Star shouted as he ran towards Wild Flower.

Startled, Wild Flower wasted no time is fleeing up the stair as fast as she could, attempting to elude Silent Star. As Silent Star got to the foot of the stairs, Wild Flower was already at the top. She stopped to give Silent Star a look that appeared to beg for forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry, Silent Star…" Wild Flower sounded she was going to break into tears. With that, she jumped into the portal.

Just as Silent Star reached the top, he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the portal, as well as Wild Flower, disappear into thin air. His eyes were glued to where the portal used to be a second ago.

Silent Star dropped to his knees as the rest of the group reached the top at his side. "Wild Flower…why are you doing this…?"


	7. The Dragon Awakes

**Chapter 7**

Silent Star sat on the foot of the stairwell that led to the portal that Wild Flower had disappeared into. His face was emotionless as if staring into space, feeling confused and perhaps a little betrayed. What was Wild Flower up to? That question played through his mind over and over again.

Sun Kin and Sky, meanwhile, were making preparations for creating a portal of their own with the artifacts that Master Tong had entrusted Silent Star with. Someone was bound to help them upon arrival as Master Tong had said.

Wei sat beside him, looking on with pity. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Silent Star. I can't imagine how you must feel right now," Wei tried her best to comfort him.

Silent Star slowly shook his head. "First Master Tong, now Wild Flower has left me. The both of them kept secrets from me all this time. I know they haven't told me everything. But why?"

"I don't pretend to know the logic behind the mind of a god, but I'm sure your master means well," Wei pointed out. "And Wild Flower…well, I've known her since before you were born. I trust her."

"BUT MY PARENTS!" Silent Star blurted. Wei withdrew herself in shock. "They said my parents came from Tien's Landing, yet no one from the town claims they know my parents. Then Wild Flower runs off before I can get a word in with her. Why would she deny me the chance to at least know what kind of people my parents were?"

Wei said nothing. She just looked at him cautiously, still a bit frightened by his outburst. Silent Star's gaze softened to a look of apology.

"Sorry…forgive me. I shouldn't have yelled at you," Silent Star avoided her eyes. "It's just that all my life, I never knew my parents. Master Tong and Wild Flower have told bits and pieces about them, but that was not enough. I wanted to at least see their graves and pay my respects."

"It's all right, Silent Star," Wei said. "You have every right to want to know them. Like I said, I don't know what Wild Flower or your master is thinking, but I'm sure we'll find them, and when the time is right, I'm sure everything will be clear."

"How can you be sure?" Silent Star asked indignantly.

"Master Tong and Wild Flower are faithful followers of the Bureaucracy," Wei said. "You were apparently chosen to carry the will of the heavens. I am willing to bet that Wild Flower and your master were instructed to keep you from being distracted with matters of the heart. But when it is over, I'm sure they will explain everything to you."

"Well, I guess…" Silent Star murmured, not entirely convinced but could offer no counterpoint.

"You must learn to trust in the wisdom of the heavens," Sun Kin suddenly said from around the corner. "That is what separates them and us. The minds of man cannot hope to comprehend the complexity of the gods. That is why my brothers Sun Hai and Sun Li were never meant to hold the power of the Water Dragon. Their hearts only knew greed and lust for power. But the duty of a deity surpasses all human desires."

Silent Star sighed in concession. "All right, I see your point. …Do you always annoy others with your convincing logic?"

Kin grinned. "You believe you have seen the worst of me? Imagine how Brother Hai must felt in the years that I served him."

Wei and Silent Star chuckled lightheartedly. Silent Star was glad that there was room for laughter despite trying times. Then his grew serious as he turned to Wei.

"Um…Wei, I have a favor to ask of you," Silent Star said awkwardly.

"What is it?"

"You have the power to see into the dead, right?" Silent Star said. "Well, I was wondering if you could conjure up an image of my parents. I just want to see what they look like."

'Forgive me, Silent Star," Kin jumped in. "But I do not believe that is wise. The heavens may wish for you to remain focused on your task and not be…."

"Yeah, I know," Silent Star interrupted impatiently. "You've made that clear, but I'd go crazy right now if I didn't. Don't worry, I'll be fine; I just want to see their faces, that's all. It isn't asking for too much."

"I…well, I suppose it would not hurt…" Kin trailed off.

"So please, Wei. Will you at least try?" Silent Star pleaded.

"Yes, I will try," Wei replied. "First I need to see into your soul. Family members share a resemblance of some kind within their souls. If I can see yours, it will make it easier for me to trace the spirits of your parents in the Spirit Realm."

"Thanks, Wei. This really means a lot to me."

Wei nodded. She then knelt down on the ground, her hands on her lap. Her eyes closed and she concentrated her mind. She reached out with her senses and touched Silent Star's spirit. It was a spirit of kindness and compassion, yet there was great sadness and confusion in it as well. She reached deeper and felt something strange that made her pull out of her trance.

"Wei! Are you alright?" Kin said as he rushed to her niece's side. "Did you feel something?"

"Yes…It was strange. I…I felt something very familiar about you in your spirit, as if I had felt that presence before…But, I can't quite put my finger on it," Wei said.

"Something familiar about me? But that's impossible. I've never met you before until just recently. Are you sure it wasn't a mistake?" Silent Star asked suspiciously.

"Well, It has been a while since I 've used my power. But I know what I felt and it felt very real."

"What about him was so familiar, Wei?" Sun Kin queried. "Are you certain it was something you felt before?"

Wei thought hard for a minute. She fell into deep thought, going through all her past experiences. "Hmm…I know it wasn't something I felt recently so it must have been sometime when I was bound to Dirge. I was basically living in the Spirit Realm and I felt spirits all the time, but I could have sworn I felt your presence at one point. I don't know how I could have, though, since you are alive."

"That is weird…it doesn't make any sense. How could you have felt my soul in the Spirit Realm if I'm still alive?" Silent Star agreed. "You sure you felt right?"

Wei nodded. "Yes, I am positive."

"You look troubled, Wei," Kin's voice shook with worry. "Perhaps you should rest."

"No, I'm fine," Wei brushed it aside. "I can do this. Now I have a good idea of where to find your parents, Silent Star."

Silent Star knelt down beside her. "Look, Wei. If this is straining you, then you shouldn't push yourself. It's no big deal if you can't find them."

"No, it's all right. I can do this. Besides this is important to you. I will find your parents."

She closed her eyes again and searched further into the world of spirits. Various spirits of the dead flashed all around the three. Silent Star and Kin looked at all the spirits around them in amazement. New spirits appears while others disappear from sight. The haunting sound of moans and cries from the souls echoed through their ears. It was a bit disturbing for Kin and Silent Star, but it was something Wei had gotten used to. All these souls must have died traumatic deaths. Some were missing body parts, while some were just children. But Wei's expression was unchanged. She just knelt still and concentrated hard. The spirits began to filter out.

One by one, souls disappeared as they did not match the similar trait of Silent Star's soul. Then the disappearances stopped. Only twelve spirits were visible.

"Are my parents among this bunch?" Silent Star asked.

"Yes, your mother and father must be in this bunch." Wei said, keeping her eyes and trance unchanged. "I've narrowed it down and these are people of your lineage. First, your earliest ancestors will disappear, then the two remaining will be your parents."

Silent Star nodded and watched as the remaining spirits vanished this time in pairs. One after another, they vanished until one pair was left. One man and one woman were standing in front of Silent Star. The man had a long white beard and was bald and had a sleepy expression while the woman had short, shoulder length gray hair and a smile on her face. Both had clothes of nobles and they looked happy and pleasant together. Silent Star stared at the pair, his eyes full of emotion. It seemed like the moment of his life was at hand. After so many years, he had finally laid eyes on his parents. Silent Star almost felt like crying when the pair began to fade.

"What? No! Wei, bring them back! Those were my parents!" Silent Star bellowed.

Wei opened her eyes. "Hmm…You mean the ones that just faded? They couldn't have been. There was still one pair left after them."

Silent Star looked at her as if she was insane. "But the ones that just faded were the only ones left visible."

"Well, I saw one pair of spirits after the last pair faded. Are you sure you didn't see the last pair?" Wei asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Only you can see the last pair and they haven't faded?" Silent Star said.

Wei shook her head and closed her eyes for a brief second. "No they haven't, in my eyes I can see one more pair, but you can't?"

"No…maybe only you can see them because you are the one with the power. The last pair that I saw before it faded must have been my grandparents. So what do my parents looked like?"

"You know, that's the strange thing, Silent Star," Wei said. "I don't know."

"What do you mean? You can see them fine, right?"

"Well, not exactly. Something is strange about the last two spirits. I can't really see them, but I can feel them. I can't really explain it, but I know they are there. I just can't see them. I doubt you can feel them though."

Silent Star let a groan in frustration. "Argh! None of this makes sense. All I wanted to do was look at my parents in the face, then this happens. Am I really doomed to not know my own past?"

Wei got up and walked to Silent Star's side. "I'm sorry, I've done all I could."

Silent Star shook his head. "It's not your fault. I appreciate you doing this for me, even if I didn't get the results I wanted. I guess I'll just have to deal with it on my own. But thank you for trying."

The two turned and faced Sun Kin, who looked troubled. Silent Star was the first to notice this.

"What's wrong, Kin? You look like you just saw a ghost or something." Silent Star joked.

"No….that's impossible…" Kin muttered, still dazed.

"Uncle Kin? Is something the matter? What has gotten into you?" Wei wondered.

Sun Kin stumbled a bit before letting himself fall onto the stair steps next to him. He avoided their gaze.

"Uncle Kin?" Wei repeated

"Hey, guys!" A voice from behind them called out. It was Sky. "The portal's ready, we'd better get in soon, before it closes."

Silent Star ran off to meet with Sky, but his thoughts still stayed with his family. He was more determined than ever to find out who they are even if it killed him. Wei stood beside her uncle, who was still looking startled.

"Uncle Kin, please tell me what is bothering you. Is something wrong?" Wei pressed.

"Yes, I did not want to say this in front of Silent Star," Kin began. "But there was something not right about the last two spirits that only he and I could see."

"What?"

"Those two definitely could not be his parents. In fact, they could not possibly be part of his lineage either," Kin said gravely.

"What makes you say that, Uncle Kin?" Wei asked.

"Because, those two," Kin paused for a moment as he looked into Wei's curious eyes. "Those two…were my parents."

Wei's eyes widened. "What?"

Kin nodded, but he wasn't sure he believed it himself. "Yes, those two were my mother and father. They were the rulers of the Jade Empire who preceded my brother. So they would be your grandparents."

Wei placed a hand on her forehead. "This is…unbelievable. But I believe you are right Uncle Kin. Your parents died many years even before the Long Drought. That was about fifty years ago! But Silent Star was born just twenty years ago. Even if this means he is somehow related to you, to me; is impossible."

"Indeed. I do not understand this myself, but please do not mention this to anyone, especially Silent Star. He would be devastated, not to mention he needs to stay focused on his mission for the Bureaucracy."

"But, Uncle Kin…He already has had enough secrets kept from him," Wei countered. "I wouldn't feel right to keep any more from him. He deserves to know about this."

"I understand your concern, Wei. But the both of us do not even fully understand this matter. I think it would be best if we wait until we are certain of what to make of this incident before saying anything. I do not want to spread any unconfirmed rumors."

"Alright, if you insist," Wei sighed, conceding the point. "I won't say anything."

"Hey, you two! Hurry up before the portal closes!" Sky shouted.

Sun Wei and Sun Kin hurried up the stairs and reached the top just as Sky jumped in just as Silent Star had before him. Wei and Kin looked at each other

"Remember, this secret is just between you and me," Kin reminded.

"Alright, I promise." Wei said.

With that, they both proceeded to jump into the glowing white entry to another world. In an instant, everything turned white.

* * *

As the white light faded from everyone's sight. The four of them found themselves in an open grass field. Nothing could be seen in the horizon except a thin layer of fog off in the distance. The sky had a light glow of purple. Wei and Sky remembered the first time they had stepped inside the portal they had just jumped through, except that time it led them to the Forest Shadow's heavenly realm. This time, it looked rather gloomy compared to the fox spirit's home. The only thing they saw was a slab of stone that was standing erect on the grass.

The four walked towards the slab. There was an inscription that was written on the piece of stone, but it was barely legible. This was possibly due to the age of the slab.

"So this is where your Master Tong said you should use the artifact, correct?" Kin asked.

Silent Star nodded. "Yeah, he said using it would call upon someone who Master Tong knows and he said this person would be able to help us in our journey."

"Alright, then I guess you should get out that essence gem then," Sky said.

Silent Star reached into his pocket and pulled out a gleaming orange essence gem…the same one that Master Tong had given him. He walked over to the slab of stone and held it in front of the slab. The stone slab began to glow blue. The ground began to shake as the others struggled to maintain their balance. The orange gem levitated off of Silent Star's hand and flew right into the stone slab, shattering both the slab and the gem. A thin strip of light appeared from the ground in front of him and immediately began to grow thicker. It grew thicker until it was about five feet in width.

The four of them shielded their eyes from the blinding light, but they managed to get a glimpse of a figure that outlined by the surround light. In a bright flash, the light disappeared, leaving only the figure that they saw in its place. The four took a long good look to see that it was indeed a person, only that his body was transparent, like a spirit. His entire body glowed green and he had long emerald green hair and wore long hunter green robes. His hands were each had five elongated fingers that resembled claws. His face was stern, but had a slight smile on his face. The smile grew to a wide grin.

"I am…free…" The man in green muttered. "FREE AT LAST!"

His joy was short lived when a grimace on his face left him stumbling to the ground as if he was hurt. He clutched his side and groaned. His eyes reached the four strangers of this place. He still managed to give them a slight smile.

"You. It is you who has released me, are you not?" The man in green asked to no one in particular.

Silent Star stepped up and knelt in front of him. "Yeah, we were the ones who summoned you. My master, Ki Tong told me to come and seek you out because he said you would help me."

The man in green blinked. "There is only one person who knows of me in this, this prison."

"You were imprisoned here?" Wei asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I have been imprisoned here for almost forty years." The man in green said gruffly. "This man you speak of…Ki Tong is what he is calling himself now?"

"You know him?" Silent Star asked.

"Of course, I know him," the man in green said with a hint of resentment in his voice. "As I said, there is only one person who would know where to point you to this realm. This man you call Master Tong is that one person. He was the one who imprisoned me here."

"What?" Silent Star gasped. "Imprisoned you? Why would he do that? Who are you and what do you know about Master Tong?"

The man in green glared at them. "You mean to tell me that all this time, he never told you who he really was? How typical of him."

"Master Tong told me he used to be a member of the Celestial Bureaucracy and that he was banished because of some mishap," Silent Star explained.

The green man just stared. "Oh he told you that, did he? Well, the truth is he's more than that. Saying that he was just another deity for the Bureaucracy wouldn't do him justice"

"You're stalling. Just who are you anyways?"

"Well if you must know, then I will tell you," the man in green said. "I am the Earth Dragon, Guardian of the Living. I was imprisoned here in this damned realm by the supreme creator god, my father."

"Supreme creator god? Y-your father…" Silent Star's voice shuddered. "You mean Master Tong…"

"Yes, your Master Tong, my father imprisoned me here." The Earth Dragon nodded slowly. "You will also come to know him as the Great Dragon…"


End file.
